The Raising of Ma Jr
by Martiangirl
Summary: Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo's son head off to start a new life. Chapter 10 up Sorry I was late
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not-nor have I ever owned Dragonball and/or its characters. This is the first serious fic I have ever written so please be kind. Takes place in the DB series(when Goku and crew were all little and cute ^__^) Enjoy.

  


Chapter 1

Choking smoke and dust billowed from the demolished village now a battlefield for the planet between its two most powerful beings. A bleeding Son Goku lay in the rubble barely moving, trying his best to stay conscious. His body felt as though it had been run over with a steamroller. Most of his bones had been crushed in the battle, making three of his limbs virtually useless. One eye fluttered open and tried to focus on the sinister figure hovering high above him. 

Piccolo Daimao sneered as he surveyed the battered boy below him. The little brat had murdered his children and nearly destroyed him and his plan to rule the pathetic planet. More than once he had been a thorn in his side. It was time to end this once and for all. A wicked smirk crossed the demon's emerald face. 

"DIE!!!" Daimao bellowed as he prepared to launch the finishing blast on the boy.

"That's what you think! I still have one attack left!" Using his one good arm, Goku fired a Kamahame-ha wave that hurled himself through the air, howling in rage. Rage for what this monster did to his friends. For all the death, destruction and pain he caused the world. WELL, NO MORE!   
  
"ARHHHHH!" Piccolo fell forward in shock as the boy ripped through his chest and bursted out of his back, creating a huge gaping hole in Daimao's torso in his wake. As impossible as it seemed, this was it. The little brat had killed him!   
  
"N-No, I-I won't l-let it end l-like t-this!" He gasped to himself. Drawing out what little strength he had left, he concentrated his power and mind diligently on this last task. Finally, it was complete. He could already feel the egg sliding up his throat. Before it completely left, Daimao gave his son one last command. 

_'Grow up and avenge me, my son. Do to them what I was unable to do. Train hard and grow strong enough to defeat Son Goku, and finish my life's work of conquering this world as I would've. Never forget your mission.' _With that, he spat out the egg, watching on as it propelled toward the mountains where he had aimed. Seconds later, a bloodcurdling scream emitted from Daimao as his body seemingly exploded whilst still in the air. Piccolo was defeated.

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Goku's eyes fluttered open as he labored out of unconsciousness. His eyesight went in and out of focus as a figure began to form in front of him.

"Yajirobee . . . ?" He struggled to move and noticed that he was being carried by the monk. All he could remember was bursting through Piccolo's chest and a brief sensation of falling before blanking out. The monk must have caught him after that. Yajirobee and Tien seemed to be talking, but he was far too exhausted to make out what was said. He looked over to where Tien was standing and strained to hear. Tien noticed the movement and turned toward the boy.   
  
"Well, Goku, I'm off to Kame House. Get well fast, ok?"   
  
"W-wait, please t-tell me. Is Master Roshi r-really . . . dead?" Tien looked away from the boy's searching eyes. He couldn't bare to look at him as he relayed the news.   
  
"Yes, unfortunately. So are Choutzu and Shenlong; they were both killed by Piccolo." Goku shut his eyes, grief-stricken. He didn't want to believe that they were all gone. The triclops felt for the boy. Still, he couldn't stand to see the once so cheerful and carefree boy so distraught. He tried to change the subject. 

"Hey, you know, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead. You saved my life, kid, and the lives of millions of others. Hell, you probably saved the whole world! You're a hero, Goku!" Goku looked up and gave a faint smile.

"Get stronger, Goku, because we'll certainly meet again at the next Tenkaichi-budoukai." He watched as Yajirobee carried the injured fighter to his car and waved as they drove off toward Karin tower. 

'He truly is an amazing kid.' He thought to himself.

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"Ah, hello, Goku! Back so soon?" The talking cat named Karin greeted the arrivals. "Er, ah, what happened to you?"

"I finally beat Piccolo. He won't be murdering any more people now."   
  
"Well, from the looks of it, you got pretty beat up yourself. All things considered, though, you did a fantastic job. Wait here while I get you a senzu bean." Minutes later, Karin returned with the bean. Goku chewed on it a bit, and seconds later, was fully recovered. Though he was healed physically, there was still something that bothered him from the battle earlier. 

"Is everything all right, Goku? You seem troubled." Karin asked in concern as Goku stared out blankly into the distance.

"In the battle with Piccolo, before he died, I saw him shoot out something into the mountains. I don't know what it was, but I don't think it's really over with Piccolo."

"Y-you're kidding, right?!" Yajirobee stuttered in disbelief. "Piccolo's dead! We all saw you kill him!"   
  
"No, Goku's right. The situation may have gotten even worse. I saw what happened. It's a little difficult to see for sure, but Piccolo has either spawned another demon or been reincarnated."   
  
"Rein-what?"   
  
"He might have made it so that he has been reborn in a new form. Right now he could be training to be even stronger and return to finish what he started." Goku faltered at the horrible notion. It was obvious that the thing couldn't be left ignored. 

"If either is the case, then the dragonballs must be gathered."

"How do you know about the dragonballs?" 

"There is nothing I don't know, Goku. How do you think I know about Daimao's plan?"

"If you're so smart, do you also know that Shenlong is dead?!" Yajirobee snapped.   
  
"Piccolo killed the Eternal Dragon after he murdered my friends and those people." Goku looked down at the floor as he recalled the tragic events. "The dragonballs are useless! I wish there was something I could do."   
  
"Sorry kid, but that's the way it is in life." Yajirobee tried to explain. "Sickness and death happen. It is best to try and move on."   
  
"True." Karin agreed. "It is the way of things. Eventually, everything and everybody must go. Nothing lasts forever. That includes your friends."   
  
"Grrrr, IT'S NOT FAIR!" Goku snarled. "This wasn't supposed to happen! Not now! That bastard stole my friends from me! He murdered them all in cold blood! It wasn't their time! They shouldn't be dead!"   
  
"Hmm, wait one moment. I just remembered. There may be one way. Kami-sama, the Guardian of Earth! If anyone's able to bring those people back, he is. We can ask him if he'd be willing to fix the dragonballs."   
  
"Wow! Really? This is great! Ah . . . " Goku's excitement was short lived as he suddenly remembered about Piccolo's return.   
  
"I'm going to find Piccolo! I mean, what would be the point of bringing everyone back if they'll just be killed again when he comes back?! There's no way I can let him get stronger! KINTOEN!" Goku hopped onto his magic cloud. "Before I go, do you think you could ask Kami-sama to bring back the dragonballs, Karin?"   
  
"I'll see what I can do."   
  
"Thanks!" he yelled as he zoomed off to where he saw the strange object head last.   
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Goku sniffed the air as he wandered through the dense brush. Goku figured he could locate the demon by his scent, but Daimao's smell was fading fast. It was like some strange outside force was trying to prevent him from accomplishing his goal. If he didn't spot the creature soon, he'd probably never locate it. Goku crawled out of the brush into a clearing just as the last whiff of the ill stench disappeared into the air.   
  
"I can't smell Piccolo anymore. Oh man, how am I going to find him now?!" Goku huffed in frustration. 

Just then, his stomach started to growl. Boy, was he hungry! He guessed he could take a snack break. A senzu bean could only hold him for so long. The monkey-tailed boy scampered up into the trees and soon returned with his arms full of assorted fruits. As he set the feast down, an apple managed to roll away from the rest of the pile into the brush.

"Hey, come back here." He hollered as though expecting the fruit to obey his command. Crawling on his hands and knees, he squeezed through the bushes and spotted his quarry. As he reached to grab it, his hand bumped into something smooth and hard. Goku looked up to see a large white egg lying in the brush. 

"Hey, an egg! This will go great with the fruit. And just in time for dinner, too!" He grinned as he briefly fantasized about different way he could cook his meal. Fried? Scrambled? Maybe he could find some water and boil it! The list went on in his head and he absently smacked his lips. 

He hauled the tremendous egg over to the clearing with the rest of his food. His nose twitched as a strange smell reached him. It wasn't a bad scent; it was faintly sour, and almost reminded him of Piccolo, only with a significant difference. He shrugged and thought no more about it, though. 

He settled down on the ground and started gobbling down the vegetation he had gathered earlier. After he was finished, he began to gather firewood so he could fix his dinner. The fire was roaring warmly, and Goku turned to fetch the egg only to find it gone. 

That was weird; he could have sworn that he put the egg right behind him. He looked around the clearing and spotted it a few yards away near the root of a tree. How did it get all the way over there? He must have accidently bumped it, and it rolled away toward the tree. Goku bent to retrieve it when he thought he saw it shake a bit. Puzzled, he stared at the egg to see if it would move again. Sure enough, the egg quivered slightly again and rolled onto its side, where it then lay silently.

"I guess I can't eat you now, can I?" Goku muttered with a hint of disappointment. "You must be somebody's baby. We better get you home before your mama starts to worry." He scanned the area for any sign of wildlife that might have been the egg's parents. 

"That's strange. I don't see any animals or nests around. Are you lost, little egg? I guess there's no one to take care of you, huh? But I can't stay here; I'm on a mission. But . . . , I can't just leave you here by yourself where you can get eaten or squished." Goku thought for a few minutes.

"I know! I can take you with me! It's getting late; I guess I can take care of you back at Master Roshi's. You can meet all my friends. I can't wait for you to meet Krillin when he comes back!" Goku called for his Kintoen and climbed aboard, gingerly placing the egg on his lap so it wouldn't roll and fall off. His face hardened as he took one last look at the forest.

"Enjoy your small victory while you can, Piccolo. You may have escaped me this time, but know this; We will meet again someday, and when we do, you won't get away from me. I'll make sure you're dead for good!" With that the monkey boy and his cargo flew off to Kame House.

  
  
  
  


*Note: For those of you wondering why Goku didn't recognize the egg as Piccolo's, (*gasp* you didn't know?!) Goku was searching for Piccolo as he remembered him (you know, all big, mean, and green) or at least some other kind of demon that was already wandering the place. Apparently it never occurred to him that the demon might still be unhatched, and just assumed that Piccolo would already be grown up, alive ad kicking (hey, it happened with all the other ones) Another note, yes Goku was following Daimao's scent, not the egg's. Since the egg came from Daimao, the Demon King's scent lingered on it for a while before dissipating.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hey, guys, I'm back!" Goku announced as he strolled into Kame's House with the hefty load.

"Goku! You're back!" Bulma excitedly greeted Goku at his arrival. "You won't believe what happened! While you were gone, the Eternal Dragon appeared, and we were able to wish back everyone who was killed!"   
  
"Yeah, I know! Karin told me that he'd talk to Kami, the Guardian of Earth, about that, and now he's brought them back!"   
  
"Krillin and the others are upstairs. I'll just call them down- hey, wait a minute. What's with the egg, Goku?" Bulma asked, just noticing it for the very first time.   
  
"I found it! It's lost so I'm going to take care of it." Bulma nodded as she seemed to accept this explanation. Goku rolled his load out of the way into a back room.   
  
"Hey, weren't you going to wake up everyone?"   
  
"Too late." Goku glanced to the bottom of the stairs where Krillin was grinning.   
  
"KRILLIN! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Goku tackled his stunned companion with glee.   
  
"I am! I'm really back!" The two began dancing joyfully as Goku chanted.   
  
"You're back. Everybody's back! It worked! It worked!" A joyous reunion took place between the group.   
  
"All right, Goku, you have to tell me everything that happened while I was gone!"   
  


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"So you really beat Piccolo?" Krillin asked thoroughly absorbed in Goku's story.

"Uh huh! He was tough, but he made two big mistakes: One, leaving me with one good arm, and two, hurting my friends! When I think about what that horrible beast did to you, I-"   
  
"Calm down, Goku!" Master Roshi said, trying to sooth the boy, who looked as if he were ready to explode. 

"You took care of Piccolo, and everyone here is safe. You did good, Goku, and we're all thankful to you for giving that monster what he deserved." He seemed to settle down a bit. 

"Hey, Goku, before I forget, I found this at the battlefield." Tien held out Goku's staff.

"My bo! Thanks, Tien!" Goku accepted his weapon from the triclops. Roshi glanced up at the clock. 

"Hmm, it's almost midnight. Why don't you all spend the night here before you head back. You're welcome to share my bedroom with me! " He flashed a cheesy grin at Bulma.

"No thanks! I can't wait to get home! Yamcha?" Bulma looked questioningly at her boyfriend.   
  
"You go on ahead, Bulma. I don't think I could stay awake another minute let alone drive all the way back to West City." Bulma tried to hide her disappointment as she, Puar, and Oolong exited the Kame house, and they climbed into her capsule plane to go home. When they were gone the remaining people retreated upstairs. 

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Goku rolled over from the futon and rubbed his eyes sleepily the next morning. When he was fully awake, he went over to Krillin.   
  
"Hey, Krillin, wake up! It's morning!"   
  
"Goku, it's early! And if you don't mind, I'd like to enjoy the fact that I can sleep late while I still can!" The boy muttered irritably.   
  
"Come on! Get up! I have something to show you!" Goku rushed downstairs as Krillin shuffled after him.   
  
"This had better be worth it, Gok- WHAT IN THE?!" Krillin gaped in shock as Goku presented his "surprise." 

"Pretty neat, huh?"

"GOKU, ARE YOU INSANE! You can't just bring a wild animal into a house!"   
  
"It's not a wild animal! It's an egg!"   
  
"Well, it's not going to stay an egg forever! It'll eventually hatch into who knows what! Goku, it could be dangerous!"   
  
"But it'll only be a baby when it hatches. What harm can a baby do?"   
  
"What happens if its parents show up looking for it?!"   
  
"It doesn't have any parents. I looked everywhere in the forest where it was and there were no animals around, at least no animals that would lay an egg like this. If the mommy and daddy show up for their egg, they can have it. Until then, I'm take care of it!"   
  
"Did you even ask Master Roshi if you could keep that thing?! When he finds out about that egg, he'll freak!"   
  
"You're right about that!" The two boys spun around to see Master Roshi, Tien, Yamcha, and Choutzu standing behind them. 

"Goku, I trust you have an explanation for this."

"Yes, sir! The egg I found is lost! Please can I take care of it?! I don't want it to leave back in the forest alone all by itself!"   
  
"Goku, listen to me. That egg doesn't belong to you; it belongs to whatever animal laid it. The parents are no doubt missing it. You must take it back."   
  
"There were no other animals around, and it wasn't hidden from other animals where I found it! Maybe the parents threw it away! If I bring it back, it'll be all alone with nobody to watch it. At least here I can make sure it's safe!"   
  
"I don't know, Goku. Even though you're no longer under my tutelage, I don't want you to be distracted from your work." The old man stopped and looked into the eyes of his young pupil. The boy had a good heart and only wanted to exercise a rule that he had taught him: to protect and defend the helpless. He pondered over this for a while before responding to Goku. 

"I'll tell you what, Goku. You can care for that egg on a few conditions. Don't let your caring for it get in the way of your training. However, it will be your responsibility, so don't ask or expect our help unless we volunteer it. And lastly, if whatever that thing is turns out to be dangerous or too out of control, you'll make sure to bring that thing back to where you found it. Do I make myself clear?"

"You bet! Thank you master!" Goku grinned ear to ear.   
  
"Good. Now that that's settled, let's go have some breakfast." 

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Goku munched happily at his fifth-straight bowl of food. He looked up every once in a while to observe his surrounding friends. It almost made him lose his breakfast to think about what could have happened yesterday. He and his friends might have all been dead or worse instead of enjoying the peaceful morning. He shuddered slightly and tried to focus his attention back to his breakfast. 

Just then, his ears perked up at an odd shuffling sound. He turned around in mid-bite to spy the egg shaking violently. He quickly scrambled over to where it lay, eager to see the creature that inside.

"Hey everyone, look! It's hatching!""Come on, come on. You can do it." Goku urged. Cracks soon appeared through the shell, and a tiny green fist managed to force its way out. Goku blinked. 'What kind of creature has green-' The thought wasn't even complete in his head before he had his answer. More and more pieces of shell broke away before finally shattering all together, revealing the creature that had been lying dormant within its walls. Four of the fighters shrank back in horror as they gaped at the slime-covered demon that was sprawled pitifully on the stained floor.   


  


Piccolo. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Hey there folks, here's a new chapter for you all! Hope you like it! Please R&R!  
  


Chapter 3

"Wh-what the?! Goku! I thought y-you k-killed th-that monster!" Master Roshi stuttered. Goku was too dumbstruck to respond; He couldn't help but stare at the tiny replica of the demon he had just recently slain. That emerald skin with patches of pink. Those pointed ears and antennas. There was no mistaking it; it bore Daimao's face perfectly. 

"YAMCHA! KRILLIN! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Tien screamed at the confused warriors as they continued to eye curiously at the infant. They had never seen Piccolo and had no idea they were staring into the face of the infamous Demon King. Puzzled, the two retreated to the corner where the others were and began to question Tien on what was going on. He ignored both of them and turned his attention to the still fixated monkey boy.

"GOKU! DO SOMETHING!" Goku shook himself out of his shock. Karin's words flooded back to him. This thing was what he had been looking for all along! In that case, he wasn't going to let the demon get another chance at destroying lives! He'd fight him again until it was truly dead! Goku whipped out his bo and got into a fighting stance.   
  
"All right, Daimao! I know that it's really you in there! Quit pretending and fight me, or are you a coward?!" Goku prepared himself for the demon to attack. However, it continued to lie on the floor squirming. Maybe Piccolo was playing some sort of trick to get his guard down. 

"This is your last chance, Piccolo! Your tricks won't work on me! Either fight me, or I'll kill you right now!" The devil still did not respond. 

"Fine, have it your way!" Goku lifted his bo high and swung with all his might down upon the small skull. He stopped barely an inch before he made contact, hoping to trick the demon king into blocking and thus betraying its true identity. The infant made no such move. 

Reaching out blindly, its eyes glued shut from the goo, the little monster's hand found its way onto the bo and tried to use it as a brace to hoist itself up into a sitting position. It had barely raised a few inches before its tiny muscles gave way under the strain, and it fell back onto the floor. Goku put his bo away, trying to make sense of what he just witnessed.

Daimao would never allow himself to become so weak! The creature in front of him barely had the strength to sit up! It could probably be destroyed with minimal effort. Why would Piccolo take the chance and put himself in such a defenseless little body? It made no sense! Unless . . . unless the creature in front of him wasn't Piccolo at all?

Hesitantly, he poked at it a little and then bent down to retrieve the helpless shivering bundle. It clutched onto Goku's gi shirt and huddled as close as it could to the warm body. Goku lost his heart right then.

"Hey, you guys? I don't think you have to worry anymore. Look! He's harmless!"   
  
"Goku, what are you doing?!"Master Roshi hollered, dumbfounded. "Kill that _thing_ before it's too late!"   
  
"NO!" The thought of destroying the child _now_ was too horrible a notion for Goku. "You don't know what you're talking about. I know he looks a lot like Piccolo, but I'm telling you, he's not! I can't explain it, but I can tell he's different! He's not like that monster!"   
  
"How can you be so sure? It may_look_ harmless now, but in a few years it could murder us all! Do you honestly want to take that chance?" Goku shuddered at the thought. He reflected about what his friend said. 

He had been so determined to destroy Piccolo in any form no matter what. But looking at the hatchling, he had to be honest with himself. He had no desire to murder this child. He was the son of Piccolo Daimao, the King of Demons, but did he have the right to judge him and execute him as his father? The child was the heir to a great evil and could grow up to be worse than his sire, but could he punish the offspring, who had hardly been alive a few minutes, for crimes he had yet to commit? No matter how much he tried to convince himself to think otherwise, he knew the infant wasn't his sire and shouldn't be held responsible for his father's villainy. 

He strengthened his resolve and turned to face his friends.

"So you just want to kill him?! He hasn't done anything! How can you kill him for nothing except because he's his son?" Goku looked down once again at the infant, who was in the process of trying to wipe the green ooze out of his eyes but ended up just smearing more of it over his face. Gently, Goku wiped away some of the slime off his eyes, allowing the newborn to see for the first time. The foundling looked up at his holder curiously for a second, and his face creased into a frown. Goku continued to clean up the baby.   
  
"AHHHHHH!" Goku shrieked in pain as he felt a pair of tiny sharp fangs pierce his skin and bury themselves into the flesh of his hand. He dropped the child on the floor in shock and examined his bleeding hand. The infant continued to glare up at him, his fangs bared.   
  
"That just proves our point, Goku! I'm sorry, but we cannot allow it to remain alive. " Roshi looked down at his pupil. "Listen, I understand that you don't feel comfortable killing anything, especially if it hasn't _technically_ done anything wrong. I won't ask you to do anything you don't feel right about doing. Tien?" The tall warrior stepped forward, understanding what the old master was indicating at. 

"Be quick, Tien." He nodded, and cautiously approached the snarling bundle, placing one hand around the delicate throat.

"Look away boys. No need the watch." Goku mind raced. What could he do? Piccolo's offspring was a possible threat to everyone he loved! By ignoring him, he could be placing all people at risk! But he couldn't stand to know he had allowed him to die!

"STOP!!!" Goku rammed himself into Tien, forcing him to release his grip as the two toppled to the ground.   
  
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, GOKU?!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET ME DESTROY THE DAMN THING!" Goku put himself between the hatchling and the now seething triclops.   
  
"NO! I won't let you hurt him! It's wrong!" Goku reached to grab the writhing bundle and clung him protectively against himself, while the infant struggled with all his strength to escape Goku's grasp.   
  
"Goku, stop fooling around! Listen-"   
  
"No, _you_ listen! His dad may have been evil and killed people and tried to take over the world, but that doesn't mean his son is the same!"   
  
"Yeah, well. . .you know the old saying: Like father, like son!"   
  
"I'm not finished!" The boy was practically screaming at that point. "You know something, Tien, you weren't always so good. I remember when you used to be mean and nasty to almost everyone you met. You even sicced a monster to terrorize innocent villages just to make money and pretend you were a hero. You wanted everyone to think you were a cold heartless killer! But you changed! You became a better person, just like a lot of other people I know. Yamcha. Krillin. Oolong. Even Lunch! All of them were able to turn their lives around. Master Roshi once told me that if you're able, you should give people a second chance! But you guys won't even give him a_ first _chance!"   
  
"Hmph! Figures." Roshi muttered to himself. "The only time in his life he uses logic and he uses it to defend some demon spawn."   
  
"I won't just stand here and let you kill him. If you want him, you'll have to go through me!"   
  
"Well, . . .if that's the way you want it." Goku's jaw dropped in surprised horror as Tien launched himself at the boy. Goku somersaulted over the charging fighter, the baby still in hand. He stared in shock at his friend.   
  
"GIVE ME THE DAMN FREAK!"   
  
"Tien! Stop this foolishness immediately!" Roshi banged his staff against the wall. "This is not the way to go about this!" The younger man calmed himself and turned to address Goku.   
  
"Goku, I suggest that you give up that abomination this instant. Otherwise, we'll all be forced to _take_ it from you! Even if it means fighting for it!"   
  
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." The residents of Kame House spun around in the direction of the stranger's voice. No sound was uttered from any of them. Indeed, they were all far too stunned to say anything. The silence was finally broke when the elderly green demon spoke again. 

"Well, it seems I have arrived just in time."  
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Well what did you think? Reviews will be most appreciated! I'll try to get chapter 4 up by May 10th! Peace!  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tien was the first to come out of his silent shock.   
  
"Y-YOU! How dare you show your face here after all you've done to us!" Goku soon forgot about their argument and dropped the infant like a sack of lead as he joined his companion in his outrage.   
  
"I can't believe your nerve! You bastard! I'm going to finish what I started and make sure that you stay dead this time!" The figure raised a quizzical eye ridge, as if questioning the boy's ability to get near him let alone defeat him. Goku snarled as he rocketed toward the demon. Before he had the time to launch a move, the boy was casually swatted aside into the opposite wall. He rubbed his head in a lame attempt to dull the pain.   
  
"I'm sorry to have made such a negative first impression for you all, but I guess it cannot be helped. Before you try any more vain attack attempts, I want to assure you that, despite my appearance, I am not whom you think I am. I am not Piccolo. Permit me, I am Kami."   
  
"K-Kami-sama?_ The _Kami-sama?" Roshi nearly had a seizure at the thought that the aged Daimao look-alike was god and guardian of Earth.   
  
"You can't be Kami-sama!" Goku stood up glaring in challenge of the deity's claim. "If you are who you say you are, prove it! Tell us how come you look like Daimao!"   
  
"You know, boy, any other person who had the nerve to address me as you did, would not be standing right now. However, I will give you the answer you demand. You see, I am responsible for Piccolo's existence.  
"Before I became Kami, I was required to go through a purification process to rid myself of any and all malice within my being. When the process was finally done, I was no longer one person but two; myself and Piccolo. He is the living embodiment of all the evil and negative forces that were once in me. I could not fully destroy him, for that would mean my own death since we are two halves of an equal whole. Still, I never meant for him to escape to earth and cause such pain and misery that he had! It was a mistake that I should have corrected long ago."   
  
"If this is all true," Tien began, "then why are you here now? Piccolo is dead. Does it have something to do with that brat of his that we found?"   
  
"Indeed it does. You see, when I first received word from Karin that a young boy defeated the demon Piccolo, I could not believe it. Naturally, Piccolo couldn't be truly dead since I was still alive. I then decided to find the boy who claimed to have killed Daimao, thinking that perhaps in the process I could find an explanation. You can't imagine my shock when I found Piccolo's offspring within his possession.  
"That child is Piccolo. Maybe not in the literal sense, but it has inherited enough of its sire's evil essence to brand it as such. That is the only reason why I still exist. And it is enough of a reason why I must take full custody of the child before it is too late." He paused for a moment after he finished his narration.   
  
Tien studied him for a moment before turning toward Master Roshi.   
  
"What do you think?" he whispered to the old master. "He could still be Daimao for all we know. He could have just fabricated that whole story just so he could get his spawn away from us"   
  
"I doubt it. I can sense nothing evil in his aura. Actually, quite the contrary. However, if you want to risk offending Kami-sama with your doubts, I'm not stopping you." Tien frowned and then turned back toward Kami.   
  
"Alright, you can have the whelp if you want. As long as it stays away from this planet."   
  
"Don't worry. I promise that it will no longer be a threat to anyone anymore." He raised a hand, causing the little one to levitate toward him. He ignored its snarling and squirming to escape as he casually tucked it under one arm and began to walk out the front door. As the group murmured amongst themselves about the previous events, Goku snuck outside. He just had to speak with Kami-sama before he left. 

"Kami-sama! Wait up!" The guardian glanced down in mid-flight at the boy.

"Hai?" 

"Please, sir, I need to ask you something. Are you going to . . .hurt him?" Kami narrowed his eyes.

"If you're asking whether or not it's going to remain_ alive_. . .yes it will. I'm not going to kill it, at least not now. Perhaps when I have secured a successor, I will then properly dispose of it. Until then, its life is secure."   
  
"Then, w-what are you going to do to him?" Kami inwardly sighed. He momentarily considered lying to the boy; that would certainly calm the child enough for him to escape anymore queries. But something in the lad's innocent and trusting demeanor prevented him from doing so.   
  
"If you really must know, it is going to be sealed away from this world: the same fate as his father before him."   
  
"W-what? Y-you're going to l-lock him up?!" He received a nod in response. The god turned to leave before he was delayed any further. 

"Please, don't go! Look, you can't just lock him up like that! I don't care what they say! He's not his father. He doesn't have to be bad!"

"I doubt it. And even if that were true, I cannot take the chance that it could grow up to be as evil as its creator."   
  
"But, maybe. . .maybe if you teach him not to be evil. . .to be good instead, he'll turn out alright."   
  
"It doesn't matter at this point. The fact remains that any of Piccolo's offspring is a threat to the very existence of this world. I made one horrible mistake in allowing Daimao to escape to Earth once! I will not make the same mistake twice by allowing his son to remain here as well!"   
  
"So. . .that's what this is all about? You're trying to make up for something that went wrong long ago?"   
  
"Why do you even care about this child?!" Kami was rapidly starting to lose his patience with the youth. "It couldn't have been alive for more than a half-hour, and yet you're defending it as if you were the father! From what I have heard from Karin, you despised Piccolo even more than I did. Why are you so insistent that his son will be so radically different?!"   
  
"Why are you so in-intis. . .why are you so sure that he'll be exactly like his father?! Sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you're wrong about this! And if you are really as wise and fair as people say you are, you'd realize that and at least give his son a chance." Kami said nothing and took off toward the lookout, not giving a second glance at the disillusioned lad.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Mr. Popo hummed to himself as he watered his garden on Kami's Lookout. It wasn't because he was in a particularly cheerful mood that morning, but he always found this ritual comforting, especially since Kami relayed to him the recent news. 

He couldn't believe his ears when he heard that Piccolo had been defeated by a mere earthling, a boy no less. He was even more shocked when Kami discovered that the Demon King had bore a son. . .and that Kami was planning on retrieving it to bring it back to the lookout. Mr. Popo frowned. The thought of a Prince of Demons remotely near the palace did not appeal to him, but he had to trust his master's judgement on the delicate subject.

The sound of padded feet landing on the tiles quickly brought Mr. Popo out of his musings, and he dropped his work to greet Kami.

"Welcome back, Kami," Mr. Popo glanced at the guardian and then toward his snapping parcel, "I trust that your mission was successful."   
  
"For the most part. Have you found a suitable container?" Kami questioned hopefully. The guardian knew very little about the Mufumba technique other than how to perform it. He assumed that to be successful, they would need a vessel that would be strong enough to hold Piccolo's successor so that the little demon would be sealed permanently and not be able to break out at a latter chance.   
  
"No, unfortunately, there is nothing that we could use at this time. It seems all the former guardians insisted on keeping everything in glass jars, and I don't suppose those would be strong enough to do the job." Kami shook his head and sighed audibly. This next request was going to be a bit more awkward than the first.   
  
"Mr. Popo," he began, "You know I'm going to have to leave again to Earth to retrieve a container. However, I'm asking that you watch the child while I'm gone. I wouldn't ask you to do anything like this normally except that the it would be a hindrance to supervise it while I'm searching, and I'd rather not risk letting it escape. At least, . . .here it'll be a slight reassurance to know it'll be confined to this area. I shouldn't be gone too long." Mr. Popo looked up at Kami, unsure of what to make of this order. He regarded the young demon glaring up at him with its teeth bared. It looked more like a rabid animal than anything else. _And he was supposed to take care of that?! _  
  
"O-Of c-course, Kami." Mustering up his courage, he tentatively took the infant out of Kami's arms and into his own.   
  
"I owe you a debt of thanks." Kami then turned as he prepared to leave once more for Earth. He stopped just short of the ledge and glanced back at his friend.   
  
"Oh, and Mr. Popo. . .please, be careful." With that last warning he flew down toward the blue planet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had forgotten how long he had been rooted to his spot as he continued to gaze seemingly blankly out into the horizon. Yamcha and Tien had long since gone their own ways, and Krillin was preparing to leave himself. The young monk studied his friend for few moments as he fingered the capsule in his pocket. Somehow it didn't seem right leaving just now. . . at least not without a parting word with the boy who saved them all. He eased over next to where his companion was glued standing. He struggled with the words in his mouth before finally speaking up.

"Hey, Goku."   
  
"Hey." The monkey boy repeated without turning to face him, almost without feeling. No, he had feeling, but they were that of longing and regret. Krillin gulped and shuffled his feet a little before proceeding.   
  
"So. . .uh. . .whatcha been doing out here all this time?"   
  
"Thinking."   
  
"Thinking?!" Krilling laughed nervously in a lame attempt to lighten the mood. "That's a first!" His laughter abruptly ceased when he spied Goku glaring at him. Very few times in his life had Goku ever been serious or brooding about anything, and Krillin knew better than to rile him up when he ever was. He stayed quiet and looked out to where Goku was staring.   
  
"What about?"   
  
"Hmm?" 

"Whatcha thinking about?"  


"Him."   


"Oh." That one syllable was enough, but Krillin couldn't help but press the subject if only to snap Goku out of this somber attitude. 

"Look, Goku, I wasn't there when this whole . . .thing with Daimao happened, but from what I heard, he was the most ruthless evil."

"He was the worst! That bastard and his minions made the entire Red Ribbon Army look like nothing!" Goku gritted his teeth as he spat out the words.   
  
_Well,'_ Krillin thought, _'at least now he's a bit more animated.' _  
  
"Tell me something, Goku. If he was so horrible, why were you so defendant of his son?"   
  
"You too, huh?"   
  
"Just curious, that's all. I mean, you said yourself last night that his children were just as evil. What makes this one so different?" 

"It's hard to explain, but I'll try. I know you saw at least one of them before you. . .you know." He gestured with his hands, and Kriilin nodded, indicating he understood.

"I saw one of Daimao's offspring when it first hatched that day. It wasn't small or helpless or anything like that. It just came out all grown up and obeyed Daimao without question. It knew what he was doing and he didn't care if what they did was hurting people. In fact, he and the rest of his kind enjoyed terrorizing people!"

"But, Goku, how do you know that this kid is any different? Like the others said, it might be small now, but couldn't it have the same mentality that the others had?"   
  
"No, there's something else to it. You see, when I met Piccolo, I could feel how evil he was. It projected from him like nothing I've ever felt before. I almost felt corrupted and dirty just being near him. The same with his minions, but theirs was all their own. But when I held his youngest son, it was. . . different."   
  
"You mean to tell me you felt _nothing_ bad from him?"   
  
"No, it's not like that at all! I mean, I felt some evil in him, yes, but it wasn't his. . .it wasn't him. It was more his father than him, but it felt. . .misplaced. Like. . ." Goku fumbled around trying a find a way to say what he was thinking, "it's like. . .if I let you borrow something of mine. In a way it's yours and it's with you, but. . .at the same time it's still mine, not yours at all." Krillin reflected on this. As much as he hated to admit it, Goku could make some sense. Perhaps he wasn't as stupid as he made himself out to be.   
  
"Maybe, . . . but I still find it hard to believe that you could feel all this and Master Roshi and Kami-sama didn't."   
  
"I think they did. . ., but I think that they just didn't want to. You know they both hated Piccolo, even before he came back. I guess they didn't want to think that anything good could come from him." The two of them were silent for what seemed an eternity.   
  
"So what are you going to do now?" Goku said nothing for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head back toward the sky.   
  
"I'm going to find him."   
  
"Nani?!"   
  
"KINTOEN!" The yellow cloud zipped toward the island in an instant and Goku hopped aboard.   
  
"Wait a second! You can't just fly off to Kami-sama's place! You don't even know where it is!"   
  
"No, but I know someone who does. Karin talked to Kami-sama before, so he must know where he is." Krillin gaped dumbfounded. His friend was just as stubborn as he was powerful. He couldn't just let him go off and confront Kami. Knowing Goku and how well he was accustomed to tact, he'd probably get the god angry enough to send him a one-way ticket to Hell!   
  
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but. . .I'm coming with you!"   
  
"You are?" Goku looked down at his friend puzzled as to why his friend would volunteer to come with him.   
  
"Knowing you, you'd probably mess things up and make an idiot out of yourself anyway. And the last thing we need is an enraged Kami at our throats! You need someone who at least knows the meaning of diplomacy." Krillin grabbed onto Goku's hand as he climbed onto his back and hung on. And for the first time since the incident that morning, Goku smiled.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ok ok, I admit it! I fudged that whole bit with Kami not knowing much about the Mafumba technique. Sorry, but I needed him out of the picture for a while. Forgive me?  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mr. Popo stood motionless as he watched Kami disappear over the edge. After a long while, the frantic fidgeting within his arms finally tore his eyes away from the ledge. He slowly turned and walked back inside, repositioning his arms to adjust to the weight. The child seemed a lot heavier than it had before. 

"Well, there is no way I'm going to let you run around loose out here. We'll just lock you in my room until Kami-sama gets back."   
  
"G-go." Mr. Popo blinked. Could his ears have betrayed him? He could have sworn he heard it. . . He held the hatchling at arms length and stared at intently. The infant still retained its ferocious demeanor and was thrashing with all its strength to get loose.   
  
"W-what did you just say?!" The man hoped to Kami that the stress of the situation was just playing tricks on him. Surely the child couldn't have spoken. . .and in such a short amount of time from its birth!   
  
"L-l-l-le-et-t-t m-me g-go!" The young demon finally spat out its first words. It lashed out with its claws at Mr. Popo violently, causing the man to drop him in shock. 

It couldn't be! It just couldn't be! There was no way! Then again, he knew better than most what Daimao was capable of. This was probably just one more of the demon's many talents. He prayed that Kami would come back soon. He bent down to retrieve the bundle he had dropped in his carelessness only to find it missing without a trace. But that could only mean. . .

  
_'Oh, Kami! It's loose!'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
He calmly wandered through the seemingly endless halls and doors. The palace was enormous, at least to someone of his stature. However, he was far more concerned with locating an exit than reveling in its splendor. He sauntered into one room and shivered violently.   
  
"Damn, it's freezing in here!" He muttered irritably to himself. He mused to himself. It was hard to believe that only a little while earlier, he had been as helpless as any human baby born on Earth. Now, not only was he able to walk and was capable of voicing what he was thinking, more of his father's memories and skills, besides his immense vocabulary, slowly seeped up to the surface of his mind. He was especially looking forward to using his ki. And there was no time like the present. He sifted through his father's memories for any useful information on how to harness his power. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard on centering himself. Beads of sweat appeared on his face and he unconsciously began to clench his teeth. He searched deep within himself for his ki to bring out. Finally he could sense something, though it was tiny, and struggled to bring it out. His mind focused on the task he had set out for. His skin began to tingle and a soothing warmth washed over his body. He collapsed to his knees, exhausted and out of breath when he was done. He rested for a moment and examined his finished product with satisfaction.

The surcoat he wore was a dark navy blue, the same color as his sire's. His father's emblem was displayed on the front, a clear sign of his lineage. He was especially pleased with the outstretched weighted shoulder pads connected to his clothing, which would be valuable for training. All in all, it was a but a small test of his newfound abilities. It would be while before he would be able to harness his ki enough to do anything profound. At least he wouldn't freeze his hide off in this high altitude.

"Now to find a way out of here." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Popo searched frantically for the young demon. His search probably would have been a lot easier, and certainly a lot less nerve-racking, if he had attempted to locate it by his chi signal. If he only knew how. Perhaps he should have taken up on Kami's offer to teach him years ago. Well, there was no use wishing. He could only continue his silent hunt and hope that the element of surprise would be with him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He growled in frustration as he literally fell out of his meditation pose.   
  
_'Damn! I almost had it, too!'_ He yawned and stretched for a moment, working out the kinks that had built up in his neck and back. He was still irked that he had still been unable to master the art of flying yet. 

From his father's memories he had discovered that he was on Kami's Lookout. It was bad enough that he was in the home of his father's -well now his- worse half. But it infuriated him to no end to know that he was stuck here. The lookout was literally miles up from the ground, and unfortunately for him, the only way out was to fly

This was intolerable! He had a mission to fulfill. He had to find his father's murderer and avenge his sire. Images of Son Goku haunted him constantly, and more than once he had broken out of his meditation with a painful loathing as the memory of the boy ripping through his father's body replayed over in his mind like a broken recording. He couldn't get away from them. Thousands of violent images decorated in death and gore stained his mind. The bloodcurdling screams of so many, including his father, echoed in his eardrums. Somehow, he knew, Son Goku was to blame for this. 

His father had shown him that humans were weak and stupid creatures. Narrow-minded and irrational, they were totally unfit to live. His father and brothers were going to change all that. They were going to purge this world of the weaklings, and rule over the survivors. His father was going to make things better for them, he just knew it. If only that bastard Goku hadn't gotten involved. He had ruined everything! He had slaughtered his family and enjoyed it! There was no way in hell he was going to let him get away with such a crime.

His ears perked as he heard a faint creaking outside the door. 

_'Probably that damn fool again.' _He sighed in annoyance. The idiot had been trying to track him down for a while now. At first, he had found it amusing to see how long he could elude the man and revel at his obvious distress. But now he was just becoming a bother, constantly interrupting his meditations with his clumsy search. He had a good mind to blast his head off, though he knew that he had only enough power over his ki to- at most- wound a small animal. He made a mental note to kill the aggravating little man once he was ruler of this planet. 

The pattering of footsteps seemed to be approaching too close for comfort. He'd have to get rid of him somehow. Peering through the keyhole, he waited until the buffoon entered the adjacent room. Slowly, he eased the door open, careful to make sure it wouldn't squeak and thus betray his position. Spying an oversized potted plant, he crept over and wedged himself into the small space between the huge pot and the wall. His coloring blended almost perfectly with the rich foliage. He remained perfectly still and quieted his breathing.

The man soon entered the room he had just been in. The young demon had made sure not to leave any traces that he had ever been there. After a while, the portly creature left the room, apparently convinced that the toddler was nowhere nearby. As soon as his back was turned, the demon child snuck back in the recently inspected room, once again mindful not to make a sound. He climbed back into his meditation pose and smirked. It would be some time before the simpleton ever thought to look for him in the same place twice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How much further, Goku? I'm starting to lose the feeling in my arms!"

"Not much further, Krillin. We're almost there!"   
  
"You said that hours ago! Can't this thing go any faster?"  
  
"Sure thing! Faster, Kintoen!" With a new burst of speed, the flying cloud took off toward Karin tower. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could feel himself getting lighter. He was almost there, he could feel it. He opened one eye and smirked with satisfaction as he saw he was levitating. He untucked his legs from beneath him and floated shakily a few inches above the floor. He decided to experiment a bit and tried circling the room. After a few unsteady laps, he gently lowered himself to the ground. His flying was far from perfect, but it would have to do. He couldn't wait any longer in this porcelain prison. He blasted through the door, not caring who heard.

"I'm out of here!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Popo whipped his head and sprinted out of the throne room when he heard the explosion. He made his way through the black smoke and nearly tripped over a door on the floor. It looked as though it had been ripped off its hinges. He raced outside, knowing that the tiny terror couldn't have gone too far. He emerged out into the courtyard just in time to see the demon disappear over the edge of the lookout.   
  
"Oh no, I have to stop it!" Without delay, Mr. Popo rushed back into the palace to get his flying carpet. Hopefully he would be able to catch the child before it managed to get to Earth and was truly lost. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_'Easy now. . .careful.'_ He continued his decent with almost exaggerated care. He probably would've preferred a much faster mode of transportation, but there was nothing to be done for that. Rather than attempt to fly faster and risk losing control, he decided the best way to arrive alive was to be patient and fly slow, lest he somehow lose his concentration and plunge to the Earth. After all, it would do neither him nor his father any good if he were to be smashed into a green pulp due to his own recklessness. 

He was jostled out of his concentration when something zoomed upward right in front of him with immense speed, nearly taking his head off. Panic seized him and he fell uncontrollably toward Earth. He tried in earnest to regain control, but he couldn't think as the air relentlessly beat at his face and he continued to tumble downward. Thousands of images of his horrible death flooded into his mind and without realizing it, he began to scream. 

_'I'm going to die! Oh God, I'm going to die!'_ This one ghastly line played over in his heard like his requiem. He clenched his eyes shut and braced himself for his horrendous end. 

His head whipped forward as some kind of force yanked him up from the back of his collar. He panted heavily as his tiny heart threatened to burst out of his rib cage. His eyes widened in shock and confusion as he struggled to see what it was that saved him. Nothing could have prepared him for the figure which stood before his eyes.

_'No. . .it couldn't be. . .' _  
  
"F-Father. . .?!"   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Note: I honestly have no idea about the rate at which Nameks grow (does anyone, for that matter). I just remember seeing a picture of a 1 or 2 year old-looking Piccolo the same day he hatched, and there's no way to be sure that Daimao didn't do somthing to speed up the process. So unless Mr. Toriyama comes out with an official statement on the subject, I'm stuck making a rough estimate. Sorry folks.  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The imposing figure in front of him frowned. The young demon blinked in bewilderment as he studied the face he had seen numerous times in his imagination. 

There was no way this man could be the one who had given life to him. . .could it? He certainly looked like Daimao. But his father was dead; he had seen his death replay over in his mind too many times to doubt that. But who else would bother to save him? Perhaps his father wasn't dead at all. Perhaps he wasn't an orphan and his father had come back to get him! 

The Demon Prince snapped himself out of his daze. He was thinking like a fool. A sentimental, delusional little fool! His father was dead and nothing would change that; he wasn't coming back. 

"Well, I think you have caused more than enough trouble for one day." The harsh voice snapped him out of his deliberations. He stared at the man with a renewed intensity and furor to discover his identity. Looking through his implanted memories, he finally realized who his captor was.

  
_Kami. _  
  


_'As if my day couldn't get any worse.'_ He was suddenly gripped with the notion that perhaps it would have been better for him if he had been allowed to fall. He glared at his older counterpart with loathing as he was hoisted by the scruff of his neck back to the lookout. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was almost at his lookout when an earsplitting scream had startled him. He had glanced down to see something plummet in the sky out of control. Without thinking, he had raced toward the unfortunate creature and snatched it out of the air. He had nearly dropped it again when he first laid eyes on it.   
  
_'What on earth was_ it _doing out here!?'_

He couldn't have been gone for more than an hour or so. Yet, the son of Daimao seemed to have aged at least a year in that short amount of time. It was apparent that it had acquired new skills that would have taken decades to master. He had shuddered when he thought of the consequences that might have been had he returned a few minutes later. 

The little demon gazed at him, almost mesmerized by his presence. 

"F-Father . . .?!" When it had first spoken, the old guardian felt his mouth twist into a grimace. That one word alone had set off alarm bells in his brain. If the little devil could remember its sire, there was no telling what other memories Daimao could have bestowed upon his son. That combined with its rapid rate of growth. . . 

He'd have to set his plan into motion right away before it could unleash anymore unwanted surprises. Mr. Popo was probably having a heart attack by now.

"Well, I think you have caused more than enough trouble for one day." He dragged it back upward without a second glance. When he landed, Mr. Popo was just ready to leave.   
  
"Oh Kami, it's you! I'm terribly sorry for all this mess! I didn't mean to let him go, it's just that-"   
  
"It's all right, Mr. Popo. I don't think either of us could have foreseen _this._" He yanked the child into view, and Mr. Popo's jaw dropped to the floor. It was apparent he had been just as clueless as Kami in regard to the demon's progress. 

"There's one more job that needs attending, Mr. Popo. We don't have much time, however, I'm going to have to spend some extra time reviewing the technique, just to make sure its done correctly the first time. We might have to postpone our plan for a few more hours. Could you notify me when it's sunset?"

"Hai, Kami. But if I may ask, sir, what are you going to do with the little one in the mean time?" The god looked down at his captive, who was almost finished ripping its shirt away from his grip. In the blink of an eye, Kami yanked the prince up to eye level and struck a blow against the side its neck. The demon gave a short yelp of pain and surprise before blanking out and collapsing lifelessly in Kami's hand.   
  
"It should be out for a few hours. I think I'll watch it from now on. If you need me, we'll both be in my chambers." Mr. Popo nodded as he watched the two exit. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kami finished reading his book and put it down with a sigh. He refused to leave the child unattended for a second- since the guardian trusted the demon child about as far as he could hurl a mountain- and was basically stuck in the room with it until tonight. 

He glanced at the slumbering demon curled up on his bed. It snuggled closer to the pillow and unconsciously began sucking on its thumb. The scene might have been considered cute had it not been the Demon King's successor. Kami took a moment to study the toddler. It looked so small and innocent while it slept. It was hard to believe that it was the same little demon who had wreaked havoc on the lookout this afternoon. Watching it, the old guardian almost wished there was another way to deal with this whole mess. After all, it wasn't the child's fault that its sire manipulated his own son for his own evil purposes. 

He suddenly recalled the words of the strange earth boy he had encountered earlier.

  
_'He's not his father! He doesn't have to be bad!' _  
  


Kami shook his head. It wasn't like him to act on his emotions. There was no way he could let the child go. He was guardian of Earth; he couldn't place the fate of the planet in jeopardy just to indulge his own wistful whims. Still, a tiny part of him still nagged at his head, saying that what he was doing wasn't right. . .wasn't fair!

Hmph. Who was he to say what was and wasn't fair. Was it "fair" that even as guardian, he couldn't interfere with life on Earth? Was it "fair" that he had to stand by and see innocent people suffer through the greed and incompetence of others? 

He was grateful when Mr. Popo came knocking at the door, drawing him away from his morbid thoughts.

"It is time, Kami."   
  
"Thank you, Mr. Popo."   
  


_'Let's get this over with.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He rested the still sleeping infant on the tiles of the courtyard. The jar was a few feet away. He couldn't help but feel like some sort of ancient priest here to kill the infant as a blood sacrifice to some savage idol. He shook his head to calm his turbulent mind and prepared to recreate the technique he had memorized. The child soon began to stir and looked disoriented up at the guardian. Its eyes widened in horror when Kami finished.  
  
"MUFUMBA!" 

He had no idea why, but that phrase triggered some alarm off in his mind. The tiny demon crawled back in his pathetic attempt to get away from the powerful current that engulfed him. 

He could feel himself being pulled in by some strong force. He tried to claw at the floor, at anything, desperate to escape from this unknown danger. He cried out as he felt his body being sucked into a vortex and then. . .silence. 

Kami closed the jar and said nothing as he walked back into the palace and placed it into a chamber where he knew no one would find it. The deed was done. The Earth was safe. And yet. . .he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he had accomplished nothing good.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A. J: OH MY GOD! I can't believe I just did that to my kawaii chibi Piccolo!  
  
PICCOLO: Me neither! I thought you said you loved me!  
  
A. J: I do!I really do!_(tries to hug Piccolo, but is pushed away)._ I deserved that! I'm a horrable author and human being!  
  
PICCOLO: Yes, yes you are.  
  
A. J: I'll make it up to you! HONEST!  
  
PICCOLO: See that you do!  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

  
Goku shook himself as he tried desperately to stay awake. The sun was already starting to set in the sky and they _still_ had not arrived at Karin's Tower. He could have sworn it wasn't so far away. He blinked as he tried to make out a form in front of his eyes.   
  
"Hey, Krillin! Wake up! We're here!" He tapped his companion's head over his shoulder and pointed to a tall, lean tower in the distance.   
  
"Finally!" The two boys flew over to the tower and climbed up the stairs to the watchtower where its two familiar occupants came out to greet them.   
  
"Hello, Goku. I didn't expect to see you so soon." The wise old cat greeted the boy. "What brings you and your little friend here?"   
  
"Hey, Karin. Krillin and me need to see Kami-sama. Could you tell us where he lives?"   
  
"Depends. What do you want to see him for?" Goku cringed. If the cat knew the true reason why he wanted to see the god, to get back the son of Lord Piccolo, he'd never agree to cooperate. 

Krillin saw Goku's discomfort and quickly intervened.

"Well, we need to talk to Kami about something of vital importance about Piccolo."   
  
"Let me guess." Yajirobee interrupted. "You two want to ask Kami about how Goku can finish that demon off once he decides to show his ugly face again! Right?" He leaned back with a smug smirk on his face, clearly pleased that he could guess their intentions so easily.   
  
"R-right! You got it!" Krillin forced out a laugh. The big clod just saved him the trouble of thinking up an excuse. Goku said nothing, but chuckled along with Krillin.   
  
"Well, if that's the case, I see no harm in it. Kami lives above this tower on his lookout."   
  
"Great, we'll just fly up there and talk to him."   
  
"Hold on. You can't go on your Kintoen. It's far too high, it'll never make it."   
  
"B-but, how will we get up there?! Jump?!" Goku stuttered in obvious distress.   
  
"You still have your bo?"   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Good. You can use that. That bo was originally designed to connect this tower to Kami's Lookout before your Master Roshi came into possession of it. Just lock it on the roof and tell it to stretch."   
  
"Really?! Thanks! Come on, Krillin." They both scampered up the stairs that led to the top of the tower. Goku shoved his bo into its designated hole and instructed Krillin to hold on tight. 

"GROW, NYOIMBO!" The bo magically began to extend toward the heavens with its two small passengers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Darkness. . .   
  
_

_It was terribly dark. . ._

_  
And silent. . .   
_   


Those were his first impressions when he had gathered himself up and looked around. It was a gigantic vacant abyss. Or so he thought. He stumbled around in the dark in his mad pursuit to find a way out. His eyes never got used to the shadowy surroundings and he could make out nothing. He drew his hand back startled when he accidently brushed his hand against something. He groped around until he found it again. Cool, smooth. . .it felt like a wall of some sort. Maybe there was a door as well. He felt around searching for something, anything that might indicate an escape. His calm demeanor soon gave way to panic as he felt nothing but smooth stone. He seemed to be inside a tiny room, at most the size of a small closet. He clawed and banged his tiny fists at the barrier like a wild animal until they began to sting. 

"There has to be a way out! There just has to!" He gasped in horror when he discovered he couldn't hear his own voice. He was trapped in this nightmarish hell of eternal darkness and silence, for who knew how long, with only his thoughts for company! He started feeling overheated and claustrophobic, finding it more and more difficult to breathe. He quickly forgot about being composed and collapsed on the floor hyperventilating. 

He tried to squelch the hot tears that threatened to consume him. He couldn't break down like this- like some weak little child! But even with all of his father's memories and influence coursing through him, it did nothing to erase the fact that he truly was an infant, not even a day old. It didn't take long before this vulnerable side of him, the side that his demonic persona had tried to bury since his hatching, came bubbling to the surface and revealed the scared little boy he was. At the back of his head, a harsh voice berated his weakness.

  
_**'Quit your useless bleating! You are the son of the Demon Lord Piccolo! Enough of your pathetic tears!' **  
  
_ _'I don't like this place! I hate it! I want out!'   
  
**'Stop acting so infantile! You must continue planning for the future! Remember your mission! You must kill Son Goku!' **  
  
_ _'I want to get out! I want to get out now!'   
  
**'You are a disgrace to your entire heritage!' **  
  
'I don't care! I hate this place! I want to leave! I want my father!' _

  
The tiny demon prince continued to strike at the hard unforgiving stone in vain, deaf to his own frantic screaming. At long last he fell on the floor exhausted, and drew his knees up to his chest and curled his body into a fetal position. He buried his face into his arms and let the tears he had fought so hard to control before flow freely until he had cried himself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kami couldn't sleep that night. He kept hearing noises, like a child's sobbing in the back of his head. At first he tried to push it aside, telling himself over and over that it was just a figment of his feverish imagination. Something that his subconscious had dreamt up as a result of his own overwhelming guilt. But the horrible sound continued to eat at his brain, giving him no peace. 

He had tried so hard to convince himself that the boy was just a smaller version of its father before it. It could feel nothing but hate and bloodlust. There was nothing else he could have done short of killing it. . ._him_, he found correcting himself. 

The human's words echoed in his head. It seemed as though the strange boy was the only one to think different of the young demon. The old man suspected that even before he had claimed the child, he also knew this. He had just been too stubborn to see it. 

He left his bedroom, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. He drifted through the halls intent on brewing himself some tea to ease his nerves, but he somehow found himself in the storage room. He glanced about the shelves of dust-covered ancient relics, his eyes falling on its newest addition.

With out thinking, he pulled down the jar from its high shelf, his hand resting on the cover. As soon as he touched it he thought he heard a faint whimpering emitting from the within. He tried to ignore the noise and decided to get himself out before he did something foolish. 

He couldn't help himself and unconsciously began to undo the lid. He could always easily return the demon later, the Mufumba technique not being nearly as taxing on him as it was to a human. He just had to find out once and for all what the truth was. Secretly, he truly hoped that the little devil would come charging at him, snarling and clawing. He wanted to see that he still maintained his ferocious and cold demeanor. He wanted him to be furious and hateful with all his being, so he could show himself that his guilt had been for nothing and he could shut the demon child away from the world and his mind for the rest of eternity.

He forced the lid open and backed away as the beaker relinquished its prisoner in a blinding flash. Kami looked down at the shaking child huddled on the filthy floor. He bent down and studied him intently. He noticed that the tiny hands were covered in grotesque purplish bruises and had some dried blood on a few of the fingers, as though he were beating at something hard for a prolonged period of time. The god ran a long finger down the chubby face, tracing the tear stains that ran from his swollen eyes along his cheeks. Pity filled his entire being as he lifted the toddler into his arms. Piccolo's son hiccupped a few times but didn't wake, painful evidence of how he had put himself to sleep in he first place. 

Kami couldn't deceive himself anymore. This was just one more piece of evidence to support what he already dreaded. Demon or not, he could not treat him as Daimao. He was only a boy after all. Twisted and manipulated by his father before he was even out of his shell, but still only a boy.

He had been a fool to play into this cleverly devised trap of his evil half. If he let the child go, Piccolo's memories would just continue to drive him until he had succeeded where his father had failed. If he shut the child away, however, his unyielding guilt would ultimately consume him. Either way, Daimao won; the Demon King was probably laughing his head off in Hell at the god's dilemma. 

  
_ 'But maybe, . . .maybe if you teach him_ not _to be bad. . . to be good instead, he'll turn out alright.'_  
  


Kami reflected on the statement he had heard that morning. Perhaps there was a way he could change the demon's son. The boy, after all, probably followed his father's bidding only because he had never been shown any other way. But if he could show him that there was an alternative. . .one that wasn't established on pain and death. . . He couldn't let him live on Earth alone, but he certainly could raise the child himself if he wanted. He could show him the love and compassion that he had been so heartlessly denied. Perhaps, in time, he could ultimately learn to reject his father's wishes and learn to care in return. It was worth a try. 

He walked back to his room with a new goal set in mind. He tucked the toddler gently into his bed. In the morning, he would wake early, and talk to the youngster. Explain to him that he was sorry for his actions and begin to treat him as a normal child, give him a home and a place of belonging where he didn't have to worry about being scorned by others. 

The child began to stir under the sheets, and rubbed his swollen eyes. He shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness. 

  
'_Wait a minute. . .light? But there was no light where. . .' _ _  
_   


Confused, he waited until his vision came back into focus and surveyed his surroundings, trying to figure out exactly where he was. He let out a terrified scream and fell off the bed with a thump the moment he laid eyes on Kami. 

It was Kami! The man who put him in that horrible place! What was he doing here?! Was he going to put him back?! No! He wouldn't let him! 

Kami started to approach the petrified child, slowly so as to not send him off into a panicked dash. The infant shakily stood up staring into Kami's eyes and baring his teeth, trying desperately to seem intimidating and failing miserably. Well, if he couldn't scare the old man off, then he'd blast his way out. He brought his hand forward and focused on forming a ki blast.

Kami stopped for a moment. The boy was obviously out of his mind in his fear. Had he been at all thinking rationally, he would have realized that his attack had little, if any, destructive power behind it. It was apparent that in his panic, all logic had left him and survival instinct had taken over, ironically making him even more dangerous than he had originally been. Kami tried once more to approach the lad.

"Please, don't be afraid. I have no intention of harming you." He took another cautious step toward him.   
  
"S-stay back!" His eyes wavered back and forth between Kami and the door, contemplating whether or not he could reach it. He fired his blast at Kami and then made a mad sprint to escape. The guardian just barely managed to avoid the blast and seized the child by the waist before he could run off. 

The demon prince struggled violently against his grip, kicking and screaming as though the Devil himself had caught him. 

"L-let me go! _Please_ let me go!" The young demon managed to beg in-between sobs, "I don't want to go back! I don't want to be back in the _dark!_"   
  
Kami tried with all his might to calm the child down, but all his efforts went for naught as the youngster continued to cry his little lungs out. At long last, Kami applied a slight pinch to a certain nerve on the infant's neck. In an instant the child fell unconscious in Kami's arms. He put the little one to bed once more and reflected on what just happened. 

The child's containment had obviously been an extremely traumatic experience for him. So much that he instinctively associated Kami with the horrifying punishment. He was mentally scarred for life. No amount of words or compensation for such a misdeed could probably ever erase that dark taint on his mind and soul.

"Good heavens, what have I done?!"   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PICCOLO: THAT"S HOW YOU MAKE IT UP TO ME?! Kami! It's not enough you trap me with that damn Mufumba technique, you had to tramatize me for life as well?! I hate to see what you'd do to me if you _hated_ me!  
  
A. J: I know! I don't know what I was thinking! I'm so sorry!  
  
PICCOLO: Forget it! You're not getting away that easily! Death is too good for you!  
  
ENRAGED PICCOLO FANS: BURN HER! SHE'S A WITCH!  
  
A. J: Piccolo! Look, I know I haven't treated you well, but could you just this once PROTECT ME?!  
  
PICCOLO: Sorry kid. You're on your own.  
  
A. J.: Yeah but if they burn me, you won't find out what happens next.  
  
PICCOLO: Damn you! I hate it when you make a point! Ok, we'll make our final judgement at the end of this fic (secretly to the fans) Get ready with that boiling vat of oil.  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Hey, Krillin! I think I can see the top!" Goku shouted in glee   
  
"Frankly, I'm amazed you can see anything out here! It's pitch black out here!"   
  
"Wow, the sky is sure beautiful tonight! Look, you can see all the stars from up here!"   
  
"Will you quit admiring the scenery for one minute and help off this thing?!" Goku sighed in mild exasperation and guided his cranky companion off the pole and onto the ladder that was on the bottom of the lookout. The two climbed up and surveyed the courtyard, searching for any sign of life that might be present.   
  
"That's funny. There doesn't seem to be anybody here, Krillin."   
  
"Maybe Kami-sama's just asleep. It is kinda late, you know."   
  
"Does God sleep?"   
  
"How the Hell should I know?!" Krillin shouted irritably. He instantly covered his mouth with his hands, praying that Earth's god didn't hear his loud profanity. He scrambled to catch up to Goku, who was already banging his fists at the door.   
  
"HELLOOOO?! KAMI?! IT'S ME GOKU! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"   
  
"Quiet, Goku!" Krillin addressed his friend in an agitated whisper. "We're in a sacred place You're going to get us both in trouble!"   
  
"It's a little late for that, boys. What, may I ask, are you doing here?" The children stared up with their mouths agape at Kami.The old man looked down at the two interlopers. He had decided to take a stroll around the lookout when he head a loud commotion just outside. When he went to investigate, he'd never thought he'd see these two.   
  
Krillin took a short moment to examine Kami. He noticed that his eyes seemed to hold more sadness than anger however. Kami studied the lads for a moment before speaking again.   
  
"You're that Earth boy from this morning." Kami addressed Goku. It was a statement, not a question.   
  
"Yes, sir! Sorry to bother you, Kami-sama, but I just had to talk to you again!" Goku explained. "I know you must be busy, looking after Earth and all, but I came to try one more time to convince you that Daimao's kid isn't all bad! I know that you know all about Piccolo, but that shouldn't mean that you have to treat them both the same!"   
  
"Hmph, I wonder. . .don't you ever get tired of repeating yourself over and over again?"   
  
"Uhh. . ."   
  
"You don't have to say any more. I understand you all to well. Unfortunately, I had to discover this the hard way."   
  
"Gee, that's great! Well, that's that!" Krillin clapped his hands in satisfaction, eager to get out of the distasteful situation. "Mission accomplished. Come on, Goku, let's not trouble Kami any further." Goku wasn't done questioning the old man yet.   
  
"Soooo, you're not going to put him away?"   
  
"Hopefully not, but. . .if worse comes to worst, I'm afraid I'll have no choice in the matter.   
  
"Uhh, hope it's not too much trouble, but. . .can we see him one last time?" Goku asked with pleading eyes. Kami looked at the boys thoughtfully.   
  
"I suppose. . .I don't see any harm in it. Come inside. He's asleep in my quarters." The trio roamed down the extravagant marble halls, all the while Goku took the time to look around and admire its beauty. He had never seen such grandeur before.   
  
They rounded a corner before Kami stopped in front of a mahogany door and signaled that they had arrived. Easing the door open, the group stepped in silently so as not to wake the tiny green figure curled slumbering on the white satin sheets.   
  
"Hmm, he's a lot bigger than I remember. Are you this is the right one?" Goku looked at Kami quizzically.   
  
"GOKU! Stop acting stupid for once! Kami knows what he's doing! Of course this is the right one. . .right?" Krillin inquired sheepishly.   
  
"Unless there are other demons up here I'm unaware of," Kami responded sarcastically, "this is indeed Lord Piccolo's son." Goku nodded and went back to gazing at the fragile little demon in front of him.   
  
"So what's going to happen to him?" He asked Kami while affectionately patting the boy's green head.   
  
"I really don't know what to do with him. Everything has become so . . .complicated."   
  
"How so?" Krillin asked, truly curious as to what could perplex the god so much.   
  
"I had considered raising the boy myself here on my lookout. But I don't think that is all possible now."   
  
"Well, why not?"   
  
"Because I had already carried out my original plan to contain the boy, when I discovered what he really was. I should have known better. Containment in the Denshi jar was terrifying enough for Daimao- a full-grown adult- let alone a child of his age. It was too much for his young mind to bare, and now he's petrified to be in the same room as me for fear I'll make him return." Kami sighed and collapsed into a nearby chair, rubbing his temples in frustration. The room was silent for a long time before Goku ventured a question.   
  
"Well. . .why don't you just let him go?"   
  
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Before he died, Daimao managed to transfer all of his memories to his son. The boy knows everything his father did, and to top it off, I suspect Piccolo may have even sent his son on a specific mission to finish what he had started. If I just let him go on earth unsupervised, it would be no different than if I had turned the original Piccolo loose on the world."   
  
Goku said nothing as he continued to gaze upon the son of Daimao. He thought intently for a few minutes. There just had to be an answer somewhere! Piccolo's son couldn't-or rather wouldn't- stay on the lookout. He couldn't be left on earth alone. . ., but. . .if someone were look after him. . .Goku's face lit up as an idea came to him.   
  
"HEY! Why don't me and Krillin watch over him?!"   
  
"NANI?!" Krillin yelped in surprised horror. "Goku, did you even think about what Kami just said?! That kid is a second Daimao just waiting to happen! He knows everything Piccolo used to know, which probably includes all about you! Remember this morning? He nearly bit your hand off! You'll only watch over him until he's strong enough to kill you!"   
  
"Your friend is right. It is far too dangerous! The boy will still carry Piccolo's thoughts and feelings toward you. I could never ask you to put yourself in such a hazardous position!"   
  
"I don't mind! I'll be real careful! Besides, I'm a lot stronger than him; he won't hurt me!"   
  
"I don't think you quite understand the situation. This boy will live in intense hatred of you for the rest of his days! He will stop at nothing to grow more powerful than you and fulfill his father's wishes! In the span of a day he was able to master techniques that should have taken him years to learn! Unless you are prepared to watch him every second of every day, there is no way you'll be able to prevent him from growing stronger than you one day!" Goku frowned at the unpleasant thought, but wasn't quick to back down from his proposal just yet. There had to be a way to make this work out.   
  
"There has to be a way. Isn't there something we can do?"   
  
"I don't see any alternatives, unless you can somehow erase everything in that child's mind, which is impossible." The three were silent for a few minutes before Krillin's face brightened up with a thought.   
  
"Well, what if he forgot all his memories? You know, maybe give a blow to the head to make catch amnesia or something." Kami reflected on the boy's statement for a moment.   
  
"I think you might be on to something there lad!" Kami stood up while addressing Krillin.   
  
"You're going to let him hit him?!" Goku asked in horror.   
  
"No, nothing quite so violent. But I just remembered a technique that might be used to produce the same effect. I wonder why I never thought of it before! The answer is all clear! I wonder if Mr. Popo still has it . ." The old god left the room rambling off to himself, leaving the two young warriors clueless. When he returned, he was clutching an ancient, dog-eared looking book at his side. He briskly wiped away the layer of dusk on the faded maroon cover and began flipping through the brittle yellow pages.   
  
"Let's see. . .it should be in here if I'm not. . .Ah, here it is! I remember once reading about an ancient mental technique used to suppress memories. Now, if I can somehow psychically enter his subconscious, I might be able to create a mental barrier, a 'wall', if you will, to block out any memories Piccolo might have given his son."   
  
"You really think that'll work?" Goku asked skeptically.   
  
"I don' t see why not. Although, it hasn't been used very much in the past. I wonder why. . .It should work. Let's see now. . ." Kami scanned the pages for any specific instructions that might be needed to implement the process. His eyes narrowed when his eyes skimmed over a faded foot-note toward the end, and the old god barely restrained a muttered curse from escaping his lips. Goku, obviously sensing something was wrong, spoke up.   
  
"Is something wrong, Kami-sama?"   
  
"I should have known! It was too good to be true! At least now I can see why so few people had tried this before. The technique will indeed place a mental barrier, but it will only be temporary. Its strength is also determined by the amount of memories it is attempting to block."   
  
"What does that mean?"   
  
"It means that the more images that are suppressed, the weaker the mental block. In the boy's case, the technique might only last a few months if no outside influences trigger his memories back before then."   
  
"Maybe we won't need a long time." Goku was ready to try anything at this point. "We could show him how to be good before time is up. Then if Piccolo's memories come back, he'll know they're wrong. Please, Kami-sama, we have to try something."   
  
"You truly are a determined little lad, aren't you. Alright, I see what I can do, however, I doubt I will have enough strength to block all his memories. To be safe, I will probably have to leave his most recent ones intact if this plan is to have a chance. Since that is the case, I'm afraid I will probably have no choice to leave you two on your own if you chose to do it, but you both have to be absolutely certain you're both willing and able to take on this task. 

"This will not be all be fun and games! You will be trusted with the responsibility of looking after and looking out for this child. He will be totally dependent on you for a while, but at the same time you must be wary of volatility of this situation.

"He can regress back to his original state at any time; anything might set off Daimao's implants: a name, a place, an event. Also keep in mind that even if you do make it through the allotted time period without incident, there is no guarantee that he will choose the path of righteousness. He might very well decide to follow in his father's footsteps of his own accord. You both must be ready if and when this time arrives.

"The fate of this planet rests on our success. Now, after knowing all of this, can you truly say that you are resolved and capable of completing this mission?" 

Goku's smile faded and a new look of determination and confidence embraced his features. He gave a quick nod to acknowledge that he was up to the challenge. Krillin was more reluctant to agree.   
  
The sheer magnitude of the plight seemed overwhelming. The success or failure of this assignment could determine the fate of the Earth. . .and it was all placed in their hands. They were boys themselves, after all. What did they know about caring for a child, a child of a demon no less?! He looked at his friend's face. He was so cool and collected. He was so sure of their ability to take on the job. Could he really call himself Goku's friend if he abandoned him to take on the arduous task alone just because he doubted himself? He sighed deeply and turned to face Earth's god.   
  
"Hai. We're both ready for this." Kami regarded them thoughtfully for a few minutes before turning toward the tiny figure slumbering on the bed.   
  
"Very well then. I will do my best to give you as much time as possible. Now, I will need complete silence in order to complete the process." Closing his eyes and placing one hand on the head of the green boy, Kami focused and began to whisper the ancient incantation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goku and Krillin gazed fixated on the god as he continued the incantation, his eyes clenched tight in concentration. The ritual stretched on for what seemed like hours. The boys were snoring loudly when an aged palm gently shook them awake. The old guardian looked exhausted, but he smiled which seemed to show he was satisfied with the results.   
  
"It is morning, boys. I suggest you get on your way. The deed is done. The rest is up to you."   
  
Goku yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He suddenly remembered the previous events and scurried over to the bed, where the young demon was slumbering soundly. Kami tenderly picked up the little prince and directed Goku and Krillin outside.   
  
"It's been a rough night for him. Best to just let him sleep a while longer." Shifting the child into one arm, Kami materialized a large scarlet sash in his free hand and helped Goku tie it over his shoulder in such a way to create a makeshift carrying pouch. Kami loaded the parcel into Goku's arms.   
  
"If you ever need my help, you can contact me mentally. Do you have any idea where you'll stay?"   
  
"Only one." Goku said as he and Krillin climbed down the ladder of the lookout. "Bye, Kami. Don't worry, we'll take good care of him. RETRACT NYOIMBO!"   
  
"Good luck to you both."   



	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"So where exactly are we going again, Goku?" Krillin asked as they flew through the air on Goku's yellow cloud.   
  
"To the house where I used to live before I went to train with Master Roshi."   
  
"Wait a minute! Isn't that out in the mountains somewhere?"   
  
"Yeah. I thought you knew that. It isn't the big one I used live in with my grandpa-that one got smashed from a monster-, but another house we had in another part of the mountains. Grandpa and me used to stay there sometimes in the summer 'cause of the big fishing river there, and I lived there after grandpa died. It should be big enough for the three of us."   
  
"You expect us to spend this entire time out in the middle of nowhere with no access to the rest of humanity?!" The infant demon squirmed uncomfortably at the piercing sound of Krillin's outburst. 

"Shh, you'll wake the baby." Goku rocked the little boy cradled in his arms until he settled back into a silent slumber. "Why not? Grandpa's house is a great place to grow up. Besides, I don't think we could take him to any of the cities. After what Piccolo did, people would probably freak at the sight of his kid." 

"I guess you have a point."   
  
"Don't worry, you two will love it there!" The three continued to fly until Goku spotted a tiny, old house about the size of a shack. It was dilapidated after years of disuse, the door hanging open from one rusty hinge, and vines had overtaken the shelter. It definitely needed work. Goku pushed the door open, where it clattered to the ground.  
"Ahh, home sweet home!" Goku gently shook the toddler. "Wake up, little fellow. We're home!" The sleeping bundle stirred and slowing blinked open his eyes. He bent his head to take in his surroundings before turning to stare at his holder. Goku bent down and let the boy down.  
"Hey, Krillin, why don't you get started fixing this place up while I go get us some breakfast."   
  
"Gee thanks." Krillin responded sarcastically. "Why should I have to clean up? This is _your_ house after all." His complaints fell on deaf ears as Goku was already running out the door. Krillin turned toward the youngster behind him, who was watching him curiously. Krillin muttered something intelligible as he picked up a broom in the corner.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"I'm home guys!" Goku announced a few hours later upon his return, as he dragged a giant carcass behind him. "And I got food!"   
  
"It's about time you- What the hell is that?!"   
  
"It's a tiger! Though, he might be a bit small for the three of us." Krillin just gaped in repulsion and followed Goku as he hauled the piece of carrion outside and began to start a fire. 

"You really did a great job fixing the house, Krillin. You even managed to fix the door."

"Yeah, no thanks to you. I hope you don't run off _every_ time there's work to be done! This was all your idea, remember?"   
  
"I remember. Its just that I'm just not good at repairing stuff. And don't worry, I'll be here from now on." Goku looked beyond Krillin toward the green toddler standing aloofly in the doorway.   
  
"Hey, aren't you hungry? Come on over. It may not be cooked but there's plenty!"   
  
"You can be so disgusting sometimes, you know that, Goku?" Krillin muttered. His eyes quirked when he noticed that the little one had made no move to join them. 

"Hmm, from what you told me, I would have never figured one of Piccolo's kids to be shy."

Goku trotted over to the toddler, who shrank even further back into the dimly lit doorway. The monkey-tailed warrior extended a hand to the boy. 

"No need to be afraid. We're your friends." When the boy still refused to budge on his own, Goku took his arm and led him to the campfire. After fetching some water from the nearby well, he divided the meat between them and proceeded to eat. Krillin stared at his "breakfast" which happened to be staring back at him.   
  
"Aren't you going to eat yours? It's good!" Goku managed with his mouth full.   
  
"No thanks. I usually like food that doesn't look back at me while I eat."   
  
"Oh well, more for us, right?" Goku turned to their little ward as he seized Krillin's portion. The little demon gnawed at his gigantic share of meat for a few minutes. After a few unsuccessful attempts to secure decent mouthful with his tiny teeth, he finally gave up and focused his attention to the huge cup of water provided. Goku couldn't help giggling as he witnessed the little one struggling to heave the clumsy mug to his mouth and dribbling much of the clear liquid down his shirt as he labored to take a drink. Goku decided to take this moment to introduce themselves.   
  
"Since we're going to be living together, you might as well, know who we are. My name's Son Goku. And that's Krillin over there." The green infant stared at them for a few moments. He turned his head toward Goku.   
  
"G-Go-ku." He tried sounding out the name. He then turned toward Krillin. "K-K-K-_Ki-rin_." Goku burst out laughing at the error in pronunciation.   
  
"HA HA HA! Hear that Krillin? He thinks you're a giraffe*!" Krillin rolled his eyes and muttered.   
  
"Yeah right, I wish! Maybe then I wouldn't get so many jokes about my height." The youngest boy looked at them thoughtfully for a while, as though trying to absorb this new information before returning his interest to his water.   
  
"Speaking of names, Goku," Krillin began, "we're going to have to give this kid a name of his own you know." Goku halted in mid bite and painfully swallowed the half chewed chunk in his mouth.   
  
"Hmm, I never thought about that. Let's see. . ." Goku attempted to come up with something. "Well, . . .he's kinda green. . .how 'bout Midori?" Goku turned to the toddler. 

"How do you like that? How's Midori?" The boy glanced at Goku from the corner of his eye as he continued drinking. He put the mug down and made a disgusted looking face, as though he had just swallowed something nasty. 

"I don't think he likes that." Krillin observed. "Well, what did Piccolo name_ his_ kids? Maybe that will give us an idea." Goku scowled.   
  
"We're not naming him after any of those bastards! He's nothing like them or Piccolo, so why should he have any link to them?"   
  
"It was just a suggestion. You don't have to get uptight! I wasn't suggesting that we name him after Piccolo or anything like that."  
  
"Pic-lo." Goku and Krillin whipped their heads in the direction of toddler who had just spoken. "Picclo." The demon mimicked the name of his infamous father, grinning in delight at the sound. The boys gaped in shock as the little one continued to chant his version of Daimao's title over and over.   
  
"Picclo! Picclo! Picclo! Picclo!" The boy laughed and clapped his hands in glee as though the name of the malevolent Demon King was the funniest thing in the world.   
  
"Then again, maybe he doesn't mind being named after evil incarnate." Krillin managed with a hint of sarcasm. "Let's just hope that his name will be the only thing Piccolo will want to imitate from his father."  
  
Goku said nothing, only growled slightly and chewed on the remainer of his meal. Occasionaly, he glanced over at little Piccolo, after a while, his grim disposition gave way to a smirk. It was pretty hard to keep angry at the kid. After all, it wasn't as if he knew the meaning behind that awful word. So what if he kept his father's title. It was no big deal. It didn't mean he was going to turn out the same as his sire, right? After breakfast, Krillin pulled Goku aside and spoke to him privately.   
  
"Listen, Goku, I'm going back to the city for a bit." 

"What? You can't leave now! We just got here!"

"I'm not leaving forever, Goku. I just want to get a few necessities."   
  
"Necessities?"   
  
"Look, maybe _you're_ used to hunting your food and no indoor plumbing, but I'm _not_. If I'm going to be spending the next year here, I'm going to need a few things. For one thing, food that doesn't have the tendency to view me as dinner, too."   
  
"How'll you get there? You can't ride Kintoen by yourself."   
  
"I have a capsule plane from Master Roshi. It's not as fast as your cloud, but I should be back by tomorrow morning. Do you think you can take care of Piccolo until then?"   
  
"I guess so. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Goku watched as Krillin's capsule plane disappeared into the sky.

"Well, there he goes. I guess we're on our own for now, huh, Piccolo." The toddler paid no attention to Goku for he had spied something far more interesting: a butterfly. 

He crawled toward the unsuspecting insect and raised a hand to catch it. His palm slammed onto the spot where the flying bug had been. It fluttered in the air before landing on Piccolo's little green nose.

Garnet eyes fixated on the bug and he lifted a palm to squish the offending little pest. Unfortunately for Piccolo, he still wasn't fast enough and he ended up swatting his own face. He rubbed his poorly abused nose as he stared up at the sky where the insect had retreated. He pouted in frustration as his attempts to reach up and grab it were in vain, and the butterfly flew off. 

"Well, it looks like he got away." Goku observed. The two were silent for a while as they both craned their necks to stare at the sky where the insect flew away.   
"You know," Goku finally spoke up, "if you want, I know of a pond where we could see all kinds of things. It's kinda far, but you can chase all the bugs you want. Whadda ya say?" Piccolo tore his eyes from the sky and grinned, displaying a set of tiny fangs.   
  
"Great! Whadda ya say we race there? Bet ya can't catch me!" The pair laughed as Goku sprinted into the woods with the tiny demon in hot pursuit.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Goku skidded to a halt when he had finally reached their destination. He grasped his knees and gasped for oxygen.

". . .Heh,. . .heh,. . .that. . .was fun. . .what'd. . .you. . .think. . .Piccolo? Piccolo?" Goku glanced behind him for any sign of the boy. His face paled as he realized that he couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. 

"Piccolo? Piccolo?! Where are you?!" Panic set in as Goku frantically called out the toddler's name, praying that the little demon was just playing a childish trick on him. But the tiny demon was nowhere in sight, not even when Goku shakily yelled for Piccolo to quit fooling around. Fearing the worst, he called for kintoen and zoomed back into the forest. 

How could he have been so stupid?! He had gotten so wrapped up with their game, he had completely forgotten about his own incredible speed. He had dashed off without even looking back to see if the baby could keep up! No telling what kinds of creatures might stumble over little Piccolo and decide that he would make a good meal. Goku gulped at the morbid thought and flew even faster.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Pant . . .pant . . .pant . . ._

Piccolo gasped for air as he scrambled to keep up with Goku, who had darted ahead of him. He had long lost sight of his new friend and had been running nonstop for who knew how long. He was physically exhausted but he was determined to push on until he found the older boy. 

He slowed down when he spotted a group of fallen trees blocking his path. There seemed to be no way past them except to climb over them. Sighing, partly with weariness and partly with annoyance, Piccolo struggled to get a grip over one of the logs. The trucks were at least two feet higher than he was, and Piccolo toiled endlessly to heave his body over it. He clenched his teeth as he pulled with all his might, however the pain shooting through his tired arms eventually overwhelmed him and he toppled onto his back. He lay there for a long time trying to think of how he would find Goku until finally his eyelids became too heavy for him to stay awake any longer, and he drifted off to sleep.

  
It was almost dusk when he finally emerged out of his slumber. He stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes wearily. The light that pierced through the forest canopy had diminished significantly, and the young demon whimpered slightly at the approaching darkness. He had to find Goku fast before the darkness came.   
  
"Goku?" Piccolo called out as he picked himself off the cold hard ground. "Goku?" He shouted with more emphasis. He peeked around a large tree to see if the boy was hiding behind it. His voice began to quiver and he once more beckoned for his friend. 

"GOKU?! Where?" Piccolo glanced around once more. The light was disappearing fast. He'd have to hurry. He'd hate to be alone in the dark. . .just like he had been in that horrible place. He'd have to find Goku himself. He set out to begin his search. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when a menacing rustling from some bushes sent him retreating back to the spot where had been. His eyes began to tear and he halfheartedly wiped them with his sleeve.  
"Goku." He whispered the name forlornly as he sat back down in the dirt. He gasped and backed away in terror as he was met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sire, I still don't understand why we couldn't just drive through this forest."   
  
"Are you questioning my judgement, Mai?" Emperor Pilaf glared up at his female minion. "I don't think I have to remind you of how that demon Piccolo dumped us off _my_ plane into the middle of nowhere. We lost almost all our capsules, so we have to be conservative of where we drive our last remaining transportation unit."   
  
"Is that why you set Soba to scout the area ahead?" 

"Of course. If it turns out this area is devoid of people, we can turn and try another way. Otherwise, if he returns with signs of civilization nearby, we will continue until we have a chance to resupply."  


"I still don't understand. If Soba is going on ahead, why couldn't we just have stayed in the hover car until he returned with his news."   


"Well, I would think that's obvious. It's because. . .uh. . .well you see. . .Are you questioning my reasoning, Mai?!" Pilaf snapped. "I just thought that. . .we could use a little exercise, okay? A nice stroll though the woods would do us good, you know?"   
  
"Good thinking, Sir." Their attentions were diverted when they heard a holler. 

"Sire! Sire! Come quick! You won't believe what I found!" Mai readied her gun in case of any trouble as the two and raced through the brush. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw what the henchman had managed to corner against the trunk of a tree. 

"What the hell is that?!" Pilaf and Mai backed away in terror, and Mai shakily took aim at the green devil.   
  
"Relax, you guys." Soba tried to reassure them. "I don't think he's that dangerous. He's actually kinda cute." Pilaf crept closer to the little monster. His eyes widened when he saw the infamous "Demon" symbol on the creature's surcoat: the symbol of Piccolo Daimao.   
  
"I-I don't believe it! Pilaf glanced over at his lackeys and then back to his quarry which remained glued to the spot in terror. This was too good to be true! He had to be the luckiest son-of -a-gun to find such a catch! He turned back to his servants into a huddle.   
"You guys, what we have here is no ordinary demon! Unless I'm mistaken, we have stumbled across one of Piccolo Daimao's offspring! And from the looks of him, he must be very important to his father. Do you know what this means?!" Soba and Mai looked at each other questioningly.   
  
"Um, no sir. What does it mean?" Soba asked puzzled.   
  
"It means I'm going to get to be ruler of this planet after all!" 

"It makes no sense." Mai observed. "If that kid is Daimao's son, why is it way out here?"

"He must be lost, the poor little guy." Soba looked over in pity at the little demon. "All alone without his dad around."   
  
"Will you two shut up!" Pilar hissed. "Who cares how he got here! The important thing is he's mine now! And he's my ticket to reclaiming the throne that was stolen from me!" 

"Sir, are you suggesting that we blackmail Piccolo into giving us a piece of the world in exchange for his son?" Mai asked. Soba nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, Sire! You can tell that demon Piccolo that you want half of the world to rule in exchange for his son's safe return!"

"Normally that would be a fine idea, except that I don't trust that Daimao as far as I can throw him! Let us not forget how we were the one's to free him_ and_ tell him about the dragonballs, and he nearly killed us in return! Forget it! We're not making any more deals with that jerk! Besides, I got an even better idea!"   
  
"Yeah? Well, . . .what is it?" Pilaf grinned in smug satisfaction as he unveiled his plan.   
  
"I will personally raise the boy as my son. He will grow up learning to obey and work for me. We will train him and then when he's old enough, we'll send him off to take care of his father. I doubt even Piccolo is so cold-hearted as to battle his own son, and that will be his downfall! With him out of the picture, I will be able to take over this planet with no interference!"   
  
"Brilliant, Sire!" The two applauded the plan, until Soba spoke up again.   
  
"Hey, Emperor, I think your ticket to reclaiming the throne is getting away." Pilaf turned around to spot the little demon attempting to sneak away.   
  
"Hey, kid! Wait up!" Pilaf and his crew shot out in front of the toddler, blocking his path. Piccolo blinked in confusion. Why would these people block him? 

"Where do you think you're going?" Piccolo turned to look at the strange little blue man, his gaze drifting between his face and the path.

"Find Goku." He spoke up innocently, as though the phrase would trigger something within the stranger that would let him pass. The man's eyes widened in shock.

"HUDDLE!" The three once again formed a circle and began whispering.   
  
"Sire, that kid knows about that monkey-boy! What if he comes looking for him, too!"   
  
"Well, . . .maybe he's just out to kill him. You know, like how Piccolo sent those other demons to kill him off." Mai tried to sound optimistic.   
  
"We can't take that chance. If that kid, for what ever reason, is actually friends with that little pest, we need to get out of here before he finds him. Just leave everything to me."   
  
Boy these folks were weird, Piccolo thought to himself. At least they didn't seem to want to hurt him as he had previously thought. Piccolo decided to leave again before they had a chance to get out of their little circle, but no such luck.   
  
"Hey kid, why don't you come along with us!" Pilaf told him. "If you stick with me, you'll have a lot more fun than you could with that Goku kid."   
  
"It's true! Emperor Pilaf is well-known for his generosity to children!" Mai tried to help persuade the child to join them.   
  
"Yeah! And he'll even let you do the stuff your dad would never let you!" Soba joined in. Piccolo shook his head.  
  
"Uh-uh. Go find Goku now. Bye-Bye!" The toddler waved his tiny hand at the people as he began to leave. 

"Wait! Hold on there!" Pilaf snatched the boy by one wrist. He paused for a moment before his mouth widened into a smirk. 

"What if I were to tell ya that I know where to find your friend?" Piccolo stood still, a hopeful smile graced his features.

"You know where Goku?" Piccolo asked with pleading eyes.

"Sure. We know where Goku is. Just come with us. We'll take ya to where he is." He extended his hand, and Piccolo hugged the arm in relief and gratitude.   
  
"Take him, Mai. Let's get back to the car before our luck changes." Piccolo laughed in delight as the woman scooped him up into her arms and walked back into the woods. He snuggled into the warm shoulder, clutching the soft hair draped over and happily fantasizing about his future reunion with his friend. Next to him, he remained unaware of his "rescuer's" ulterior motives.   
  
_'I can't believe my luck. Who would have thought that I would find such a prize in a backwater place like this?! I'll be king in no time!'_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A. J.: Ooo, what's going to happen next?! Is Piccolo really going to be Pilaf's prodigy and help him take over the world?   
  
PICCOLO: I better not! I can feel my IQ dropping like a lead balloon already!   
  
A. J.: Actually, I'd love to see how Pilaf and Co. take on being parents! Well, R&R and tell me what you think.   
  
PICCOLO: I'd rather be back at Kami's place than with those morons!   
  
*I looked it up and, from what I gathered, kiran is a Japanese word for giraffe. Cookies for those who figured this out before I told you.  
  



	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Where's the baby? Where did he go?" Piccolo pulled his palms away from his eyes to reveal himself to the perplexed lady.   
  
"Here!"   
  
"Oh, there you are!" Mai smiled as she pretended to be astounded at his "disappearance". Piccolo, still cradled in her arm, laughed in glee at being able to fool them. He clasped his hands to cover his eyes and "hide" again.   
  
"Oh no, he disappeared again! I can't find him anywhere! Soba, do you know where the baby went?"   
  
"No," Soba said, desperately trying to stifle his giggling, "I have no idea!" Piccolo peeked out from his hands and let them know where he was.   
  
"Here I am!"   
  
"Oh, there you are! You did it again!" While the three were enjoying the little game, Pilaf was desperately trying to restrain himself from strangling the lot of them.   
  
"WILL YOU GUYS CUT THAT OUT?! YOU'RE MAKING ME SICK!"   
  
"Sorry, sir. We were just having a little fun with-"   
  
"You're ruining him, is what you're doing! How can I expect to raise him as my merciless demon underling, if you keep playing these . . .these. . . baby games with him?! If he turns out anything like you two morons, I'll have your heads!"   
  
"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Soba whispered to Mai. Mai nodded as she shifted the toddler in her arms. Piccolo yawned loudly, displaying two sets of tiny fangs before curling up near the warm body.   
  
"Aww, looks like somebody could use a nap right about now."   
  
"You'd make a wonderful mother, you know that, Mai?" Soba commented.   
  
"You really think so?" Mai smiled to herself as she continued to walk on, the soft snoring of the little baby residing in her ears. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had been searching for hours but with no luck. He had tried to sense Piccolo's energy at first, just like he had felt Daimao's, but he just couldn't pinpoint it. Maybe he was too weak to be clearly felt. He didn't know. He didn't bother to search by scent since he that would require him to search slowly on foot, and he had to no time to spare.  
Goku clutched at his chest trying to ease the pain he felt there. Piccolo was all alone out there. Who knew how long he would last? What if he never found him? Or worse. . .what if he happened to stumble across his remains. Goku shook his head violently. No! He couldn't think like that! He had to keep trying! He ignored his growling stomach as he pushed on.

"Kami, I wish I just had a clue where you were."   
  
"What seems to be the trouble?" Goku nearly fell off his cloud when the voice infiltrated his brain. He stopped suddenly and whirled around in bewilderment.   
  
"What?! W-who said that?! Who's there?!"   
  
"This is Kami. You called for me, did you not?" Goku could have smacked his head. He had forgotten that he could mentally call for the guardian.   
  
"Oh Kami, I'm sorry! I should've called you for help earlier! You've got to help me! It's Piccolo!"   
  
"WHAT?! What are you talking about?! How can Piccolo be back?!" Goku's brow creased in confusion before he finally realized his error.   
  
"Oh, not that Piccolo. His son. We. . .uh. . .sort of named him that."   
  
"And what, may I ask, possessed you to name that child after that monster?"   
  
"Well, you see. . .it wasn't really our idea. We were having breakfast, when Krillin-"   
  
"Never mind!" The god interrupted irritably. "Please, just tell me why you called."   
  
"Oh yeah. Kami, I don't know how to tell you this, but Piccolo's gone. We were playing and I sort of forgot to make sure he was with me, and now he's lost and all by himself out here! I've been searching for hours and I can't find him anywhere! You seem to know a lot about him; do you have any idea where he might have gone?" Goku listened anxiously for any helpful information.   
  
"Okay, just give me a moment. The boy and I share a bond so I may be able to track down where he is." Goku held his breath as Kami's voice fell silent. The wait seemed to stretch on forever.   
"Okay, I think I can make out his ki signature. It's faint, a few miles west of your position. Hmm, that's odd. . .there seems more than one energy signal. I'm not exactly sure why. Hurry, you should be able to catch up with them if you leave now. I have a bad feeling something might be brewing."   
  
"Right, Kami! Thanks for your help! Let's go Kintoen!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jade eyelids snapped open as his sharp ears picked up an odd sound. He peered over the Mai's shoulder to try and make out what was there. In the distance, between the trees, he thought he saw a golden streak. He squinted eyes and made out the silhouette of a short figure . . .with a tail!

"Goku!" Laughing in delight, the little demon squirmed out of the woman's grasp and scrambled to meet with his friend. He stopped dead in his tracks when he felt strong fingers wrap themselves around the back of his neck. The grip squeezed harder, crushing his windpipe and preventing the boy from crying out. His body was yanked back to face the enraged expression of the little man who was supposed to be helping him.   
  
"Not a sound out of you, ya little lizard," Pilaf hissed into the little one's ear, "or I swear to god, I'll wring your scrawny green neck!" Piccolo clawed at the hand in vain. He didn't understand. Why was the nice man so angry all of a sudden? He had been so willing to help him and now he was keeping him from going back to Goku. His eyes glassed over in unshed tears as the little man and his friends pulled him behind some brush. Pilaf reached into a holster near Mai's belt and pulled out a revolver, pushing the muzzle into the back of the baby's skull.  
"You do anything to let your friend know where we are and you'll be getting a bullet in your brain, get it?!" He leaned back against a tree, clutching the demon close to him, and peeking around to make sure the cost was clear.   
  
Goku looked up as he thought he heard something rustling near some bushes. He hopped off his cloud to investigate.   
  
"Oh great! It's that pesky kid!" Goku whipped his head in the direction where he heard the voice.   
  
"Hello, is anyone out there?!" Piccolo managed to wretch free for a split second to call out.   
  
"Goku! He-" His plea was cut short as the butt of the gum smashed against his face. His vision blinked on and off and he tasted coppery blood.   
  
"I thought I told you to shut up!" Goku's eyes narrowed.   
  
"Show yourself! Who's there?" Goku's heart nearly stopped when he saw the dark shadow drag out the battered demon in front of him, a gun pointing threateningly at his head. Goku clenched his fists in a rage. He inwardly winced as he observed the stark pain and terror in the infant's eyes. What kind of sadistic bastard would sink so low as to abuse a little baby?!   
  
"YOU?! What are you doing here?!"   
  
"I could ask you the same question. Seems no matter what, we have the misfortune of bumping into each other."   
  
"You creep! Let Piccolo go!" Pilaf quirked an eye.   
  
"Piccolo, eh? Figures."   
  
"What do you want with him anyway?! He couldn't possibly be any worth to you!"   
  
"On the contrary! This little green gem is going to be my key to becoming king of this planet! With him on my side, no one would dare oppose me; not his father, and from your reaction, certainly not you!"   
  
"I'll show you, you bastard!" Goku crouched into a fighting stance and prepared to spring.   
  
"Oh sure, go ahead! Attack us if you dare. You're so sure that you're quick enough to get this kid away from us before I get the chance to pull the trigger?" Goku narrowed his eyes, but stalled his assault. Pilaf smiled when he noticed the boy's hesitation. 

"That's right just stay there like a good little monkey. After all, you can't be sure whether I'm bluffing or not. Do you really want to take the chance?" Goku stood from his stance, defeated for the moment, though still furious. He had to find a way to get Piccolo away from this sicko! Behind Pilaf, his minions watched on in repulsion.

"Mai, you don't think the boss would really-"   
  
"No, he wouldn't dare." The woman sounded unsure herself though. "At least, I don't think he would."   
  
"Kami, I know us bad guys are supposed to be ruthless, but even we have our limits! Pilaf is leaning toward super villain with this stunt!" 

"You're right about that. I didn't think Pilaf would have the gall to pull something like this."

"Gee, and I was just starting to like the little guy."   
  
"Stop talking about him as if he's already dead!" Mai snapped in a hushed whisper. "There's still a chance Goku can win this. I know we shouldn't be rooting for the hero, but under the circumstances. . ." Soba nodded in understanding and agreed. Pilaf glanced over to his two henchmen. 

"Mai. Soba. Go back and bring the hover car here. We'll be leaving shortly." He turned back to Goku. "And don't even think about following us! One false move and you'll be rescuing a corpse, get it?!" Goku growled.

"You may have him for now, but know this! No matter what, I'll never rest until I get Piccolo back. You can't stop me from finding him!"   
  
"Perhaps, but by the time you do find us, it'll be too late for- AHHH!" Pilaf screamed in agony as a set of claws slashed across his face and eyes, blinding him. Piccolo snarled as he wretched free from the twerp's clutches.  
"AHH, MY FACE! I CAN'T SEE! SON-OF-A-" Pilaf clutched at his bleeding face. In the confusion, Pilaf dropped the gun. A shot rang out from the gun upon its impact to the ground. Goku shot like lightning to snatch the infant from the madman. He set the toddler down a few feet away, hidden out of harm's way.  
  
"Stay here. I'll be right back." Goku whirled around on the three, eyes flashing in rage as he prepared for his vengeance. Pilaf peered out with one eye and reeled back in terror when he spotted the seething boy and his hostage nowhere in sight.   
  
"N-now n-now, n-n-o need to be h-hasty. I wasn't r-really going to h-hurt him. H-h-honest!" Goku bared his teeth, his fists shaking in anger.   
  
"So help me. . .You're lucky I don't like killing people! But I'll teach you never to hurt an innocent person like that again!" Goku hollered as he launched at the little blue man, landing a flying kick into his head. He had pulled back his attack just enough that Pilaf wouldn't die, but not quite enough so that he wouldn't feel it upon impact. Pilaf landed hard into a nearby tree and fell to the ground seeing stars before he blanked out. Goku glared at the remaining two. 

"So, are any of you willing to fight me?!" 

"To be honest, we're sort of glad you put an end to this." Mai replied calmly. Goku eyes widened in surprise.   
  
"You are?"   
  
"Things should have never have advanced this far. We may be bad guys, but we're not evil. Take the kid and go. You shouldn't be troubled by us for a while."   
  
"You're really just going to let us go? You're not going to fight?"   
  
"Guess not." Mai bent down to pick Pilaf off the ground and swung his unconscious form over her shoulder. She smirked at the lad. 

"Looks like we both have our own little guys to care for." The two started away. "Tell, Piccolo we said 'Hi'."

"Yeah, that little guy is all right!" Soba waved goodbye as they began to leave.   
  
"Wait!" Goku called out. "Why don't you stay here with us? You don't have to listen to that guy. We can live together out here." Mai shook her head.   
  
"Don't think so, kid. We're criminals at heart. It wouldn't work out. Besides, we're still loyal to Pilaf, even if he is a little psychotic. Trust me, when we meet again, it won't be under such friendly circumstances." With that the threesome disappeared back into the forest as Goku watched on.   
  
"We'll see about that." Goku smirked to himself. Maybe there was hope for those two after all. Goku strolled over to where he had hidden Piccolo and called for his magic cloud.   
"Come on, Piccolo. Let's go home." Piccolo said nothing, as he sat on the cold ground, curled into a small ball, never looking up. Goku frowned as a wave of guilt washed over him.  
"Look, I know I shouldn't have left you before. This would never have happened if I had been more careful. I'm sorry, and I promise not to let anything like that happen again." The toddler didn't respond and he continued to stare down at the dirt.  
"What's wrong? You're not still mad, are you?" Goku bent down to take the boy, but he just pulled away and scrunched up more out of Goku's reach. Goku quirked his head. He tried once again to reach out to the child, gently grabbing at his arm.  
  
The moment he touched flesh, Piccolo went ballistic! Screaming as though possessed, he kicked and slashed at the monkey boy in a frantic attempt to get away. Goku looked on in astonishment.  
What on Earth had he done to get such a reaction? It didn't take long for him to discover the answer. A familiar scent offended his nose and he noticed the hand he had touched Piccolo with felt sticky. He looked at his palm and was met with a wave of nausea. Though violet in color, it didn't take a genius to recognize what the liquid was: blood. Goku's gaze traveled over to Piccolo, who was cradling his right arm, trying to protect it from further pain. The lavender sleeves were stained dark purple from a wound. Then he remembered.  
The gunshot. After Piccolo had attacked, Pilaf had dropped the gun. . .and it went off. The bullet must have hit Piccolo. It was a wonder that he didn't cry out when it hit. Either that or he had been too preoccupied with getting the little boy to safety that he didn't notice any. Goku bent down toward Piccolo.  
  
"Piccolo! Get up right now! You have to get up so we can go home to fix that! Do you want to get hurt more? We have to go home! I promise I won't hurt you, but that arm is only going to get worse if we stay here!" Careful not to touch the arm, Goku bent down to seize Piccolo's waist, pulling him up into his arms.  
With a swift motion, Goku hopped, with Piccolo in hand onto the magic cloud hovering a few feet above. He sat the baby demon down on the soft surface. . .only to watch in horror as he plummeted through and crash onto his damaged arm on the ground below.  
What on earth had happened?! He had thought that Kami's spell had made Piccolo good now! Why wouldn't Kintoen let him on? He couldn't think of anything bad Piccolo could have been thinking at the time to make Kintoen drop him. Frowning and unable to come up with a logical explanation, he took his frustrations out on his cloud.  
  
"Hey that wasn't very nice! Why would you do something like that, Kintoen?" Of course, the cloud didn't respond, and Goku jumped down to comfort the bawling toddler. He managed to coax the green child into letting him examine his arm. It hung limply at the side and it appeared to be unable to be moved. It was probably dislocated from the fall. Once again, Goku carried Piccolo into his arms. Once on his yellow cloud, he gently seated him on his lap, leaning the green head to rest on his chest. Piccolo had calmed down a bit, appearing to be struggling not to cry anymore.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. You don't have pretend. I know that must have hurt a lot. I won't tell anyone." Piccolo didn't seem to hear as they sped off to the house. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was well into nightfall when they arrived back at Goku's house. The toddler clung with his good arm to the monkey boy as they stumbled through the dark and into the house. Goku searched blindly until he found the place where his grandfather had kept the matches. Goku fumbled with them for a bit until he finally managed to light one to kindle the little lamp they had. The little baby waited patiently on the futon until Goku walked over.

"Okay now, Piccolo. I just have to go back outside for a little bit to find something to take care of that arm. It's too late to go back to Karin's place to get senzu beans, so we just have to hang on until morning. Stay right here and don't move until I get back." Piccolo whimpered and clamped his well hand onto Goku gi, silently pleading for him to stay. 

"I'll be right back. . .I promise." Goku bent into a cupboard to retrieve a rusty looking lamp, which he lit and took outside. When he finally returned, he had a bunch of sticks, leaves, and rocks under one arm. He dumped them on the floor and set to work. He didn't really know how to fix a broken arm, but he had seen his grandpa once make a special sling once for a bird with a broken wing, so he figured it was almost the same thing. Picking up a wide, flat piece of wood, Goku walked up to Piccolo. Taking off his belt, Goku took the injured appendage and tied it to the wood. Piccolo still couldn't move it by himself though, and he looked on curiously as Goku next took a bowl, some leaves, and a large rock and began smashing the leaves into pulp. He took some of the green stuff in a hand and went over to him.

"Okay, Piccolo, this is going to a bit harder. This stuff should help heal that wound, but it stings a lot. Trust me, I should know." Piccolo bit his lip as he watched Goku prepare to spread the goo onto him. The next thing Goku knew, after he had spread the balm, was a shrill shriek, a force against his face, and falling hard on his bottom. He rubbed the aching cheek of his face, where Piccolo had inadvertently slapped him. Piccolo sat on the futon blowing frantically on the burning arm.  
Goku stretched and yawned as he blew out the lamp and climbed onto the futon with Piccolo. However, the piercing sound of crying prevented him from getting any sleep. Rubbing his eyes wearily, Goku stumbled off the futon and relit the lamp on the table. Instantly, the sobbing stopped. Goku sighed.

"What is it? What's wrong now." Piccolo looked down, as though ashamed. He didn't look like he was in an kind of physical pain. Goku sighed exasperated. It was far too late at night to be figuring out this kind of stuff. He turned back toward the lamp and prepared to blow it out when he felt something crash into his back. He looked over startled at Piccolo, who had flung himself at his back. Piccolo clung tight to the boy with his left hand and buried his face into his shirt, his whimpering muffled by the material of Goku's gi. 

"Hey, what's that matter with you?" Piccolo looked up at Goku, his dark eyes beginning to water. He almost hated himself for crying again. Even he was getting annoyed with his own whining, but he couldn't help it. He started to break down.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO! No dark! Please! No more dark!" Goku was speechless. All this fuss because he was afraid of the dark? Piccolo sensed the boy's annoyance and tried his best to explain his fear with the few words he knew.  
"Dark bad! Scary! Quiet! Like bad place! No wanna go back! NO WANNA GO BACK!" He hid his face again not wanting to see his friend's reaction. He knew he was being foolish and shouldn't be afraid. Goku's features softened. He wondered what the 'bad place' was that scared Piccolo so much. It must have been really frightening. Did Kami know about it? His eyes widened in slow realization. Kami had mentioned that he had locked Piccolo up in the Denshi jar and how it affected him.   
  
"Okay. I'll leave the lamp on tonight. Just promise me that you'll go to sleep this time. Piccolo nodded and finally calmed down. The two children climbed into the futon. Piccolo snuggled as close as he could to Goku as the two drifted off for the night.   



End file.
